FrostFlame
by The Big Bad Werewolf
Summary: The fiery twelfth prince was really the cold new queen's opposite, in more ways than one. Though very different, Bernhard and Elsa similarly have pasts filled with tragedies involving their "gifts". Meeting each other and bonding over their misfortunes, they will discover that the shattered pieces of two broken hearts can always be mended together into a single one, full of love.
1. The Proposal

So...yeah. Hey, Guys! This is the first chapter of my first story mehehe. I'm working on a prologue to this. The beginning seems far too straightforward but I don't wanna include the prologue here because some of the central characters (My main Ocs, Bernhard and Sigmund) are not cannon in "Disney's Frozen" (duh!) and might just be clutter to Disney's Frozen fanatics (discouraging from reading any further). Also, though I thought it might help make this story a little bit less confusing, it might also get in the way of my natural story development. In the meantime, please read this and hopefully my OCs will become interesting enough for you guys to read the prologue so that you can discover the WHOs, WHATs, WHEREs, WHENs, WHYs and HOWs. Read and review please, people, please!

P.S. English isn't exactly my native language. You're more than welcome to correct any grammar errors, spelling mistakes and all that.

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

* * *

**Chapter 1:**

**The Proposal**

* * *

Kai led them from the castle's entrance. They followed him silently while looking at their surroundings.

Bernhard, "Prince Bernhard" as is his proper title, carried himself with natural grace and a perfect posture, each step appearing measured.

He was wearing a pair of black pants, a blue tail coat with a red vest and a white shirt underneath. A purple ascot was tied snugly around his collar. His hands were in brownish-red finger-less gloves that had rectangular holes on the back and oval ones on the palms, showing off his hard knuckles and long fingers. His reddish-brown, knee-high boots were polished to look good as new. On the right side of his chest, opposite his breast pocket and hung by a strong, slender, silver chain, was an orange crest in the shape of a lone flame.

His short black hair was combed down to look neat and covered the top part of his forehead. It suited his face that had light, hardly visible trails of stubble. He, by all means, looked very attractive.

Lord Sigmund, who preferred not to be addressed as such, had longer but slower strides given that he towers over most men. He held his head high, to the point that it would appear almost arrogant to some.

Due to him not actually being a prince, Sigmund was not required to wear such fancy clothes, but for the sake of formality, he wore the clothes made for him when he was appointed "Master of the Horse" in the Southern Isles about six years ago, a red top and blue breeches. It was a little tighter and shorter on him now than it was when he last wore them, three years ago. The material was hugging his muscle-bound arms and legs but at least covered them enough.

He wore his signature silver gloves, boots and cloak but his hood was down. His hairless head is visible along with his almost equally hairless face, save for his dark brown eyebrows. He was good-looking, albeit more mature and rugged than his half-brother.

They were passing by the open door to the common room, when a servant coming out bowed her head to them. Bernhard caught a brief glimpse of a painting of the royal family of Arendelle hung above a fireplace. It showed the king standing and resting his right hand on the shoulder of a seven-year old Elsa beside him. Sitting in front of them, was the queen with a four-year old Anna on her left lap. He barely had time to look longer before they were walking once again.

In front of a set of decorated double doors, they stopped abruptly. "Please wait here. I shall present you to her majesty."

They nodded and then Kai left.

For the first time since entering the castle, Sigmund finally said a word.

"Not bad, not bad at all, ya? It's as big as the one back at The Isles, more or less, just as fancy too. In other words, a little bit too much for my tastes." he thought out loud.

Bernhard had his eyes closed and was taking deep breaths.

"Are you ready, Bern?" he asked.

"Was born ready!" he answered quite confidently after he opened his blue eyes.

"Presenting: Prince Bernhard of the Southern Isles; Lord Sigmund of the Southern Isles." Kai's deep voice boomed loud enough for them to hear through the doors.

"God, I hate that title!" Sigmund muttered under his breath and then put a palm in front of his face.

Bernhard merely chuckled at him, nervous and amused at his demeanor.

When they entered, they instantly saw the queen sitting on her throne.

She wore her hair in a French braid and was wearing a teal dress with black sleeves and a magenta cape splayed around her dark brown shoes. The most striking feature among the things she wore, however, was not her crown, but the cyan gloves that covered her hands, though the weather was not even cold yet. Although it was already the start of that year's autumn season, it was still relatively warm in that region.

Her icy blue eyes met the prince's smoky blue ones. She blinked, looked over Sigmund and then her gaze quickly went back to Bernhard.

Sigmund gave a weak cough but that was not enough to get Bernhard's attention so he subtly tapped on his shoulder and that made him snap out from his trance.

With Sigmund following close behind him, he made his way over to the queen at an even pace but when he reached the foot of the daïs, instead of bowing to show humility like Sigmund did, Bernhard outright knelt in front of her on bent knee and kept his head down, facing the floor.

Elsa's jaw dropped and then she blinked in rapid succession.

"Your Majesty, I come on behalf of King Stefan of the Southern Isles, my elder brother, to humbly beg your pardon for our youngest brother, Hans' serious crimes. I assure you, he is no longer considered a prince and is being detained in the castle dungeons and treated the same way as a criminal who is guilty of treason. Our king wished for me to personally ensure that you are made aware of the fact that we understand the grievous transgressions that our treacherous brother had tried to do and should you will it, he will be sent back here to stand trial and face whatever his sentence may be at Arendelle. However, all we ask is absolution for our own kingdom and its own people because of an offense of one of our own."

Bernhard was not at all what Elsa had been expecting. He certainly had the same proper etiquette as Prince, no, Former Prince Hans did, that is for sure but he looked a lot different with his black hair and blue eyes, in contrast to his brother, Hans' auburn hair and green eyes. He looked taller and more muscular too and from years of sailing, his skin was slightly tan compared to his brother's fair, pinkish complexion and is even more noticeable against Elsa's ivory, pale one. He also had one deep, throaty voice.

It took time for the queen to recover from her daze caused by the prince's modest words and actions but when she did, she rose up from her throne in a way that reflected the picture of sophisticated grace she was known for and spoke with a gentle yet firm voice.

"Arise, Lord Sig- ... I mean, Prince Bernhard." Her tone was soft but at the same time, commanding.

Bernhard rose to his feet and struggled to look at Elsa's face and when he finally did, the challenge became trying to look away.

"There is really no need to apologize. I am well aware that neither you, King Stefan nor any of your other brothers are aware of Hans' schemes. His plot was indeed foul but I hold none of your people at fault and bear no ill will towards your kingdom."

The queen descended the daïs and like a moth drawn to light, the prince just kept staring, his heart beat at irregular intervals sometimes faster, sometimes slower and he felt the butterflies in his stomach flutter more wildly as she got closer and closer to him.

"I do not require Hans to come back here, to be quite frank, I wish he never sets foot in our kingdom again, also, I am certain that twelve older brothers would be so much more capable of giving out punishments befitting his misdeeds than merely a newly crowned queen, do you not agree, Prince Bernhard?" The queen raised a delicate eyebrow and gave a smile.

"I...I do, Queen Elsa." He stuttered and cleared his throat before returning a crooked smile.

At this, it was Elsa's heart's turn to skip a beat. Still, she continued.

"Oh, umm, good...good, now we could put that troubled past behind us." Even the queen is having difficulty in concentrating now but kept talking. "Then we may press on to other matters at once."

"If it pleases Her Majesty.

Elsa gulped then nodded.

Bernhard tried his best to regain and retain his focus. He drew a deep breath and started.

"If I may be so bold, I wish to discuss trade with you, Your Majesty. Specifically, our respective kingdoms' partnership which, oddly enough, was never dissolved in spite of all that had happened."

Dutifully, he spoke without further hint of being distracted.

"We, here at Arendelle have already lost much after the...the incident last summer, I assume you already know the details?" The queen chose her words carefully and asked with both eyebrows raised.

Both of them seemed much more at ease when discussing business.

"Yes, I was told a very detailed story. I really am sorry."

"It is fine, but the point is that we cannot afford to lose anymore. Besides, you and your king are not responsible for it and honestly speaking, neither is your youngest brother, not entirely, at least. It would be presumptuous of me, but I daresay that even the Southern Isles has been affected by that unfortunate mishap. Your kingdom is a valuable trading ally and I do see no reason why we should put an end to our trading ventures, do you?"

"I do not, Your Majesty."

"Then you and I are still on the same page. Is there anything else, Prince Bernhard?"

"Well there is one more thing Queen Elsa, though I am not quite so sure whether you would be willing to talk about it."

He thought that this was as good as any way to start and it did pique the queen's interest, which was indeed a good sign for him.

"Go on." she insisted.

"I would go straight to the point and stop beating around the bush to tell you directly but perhaps it would be better to just show you."

The prince had everybody's attention trained on him and slowly he raised a hand. All the guards in the room drew their weapons at which point Bernhard stopped and slowly lowered his hand.

Elsa put up her own hand to stop the guards and urged him to continue what he was doing.

"I do not think that he could harm me with his hand alone. You men forget that I have the power over ice."

Bernhard gave a lopsided grin and started doing the same motion as before but with more eagerness when suddenly, a lone flame appeared in his palm, little at first before it grew little by little until it slowly, fully, engulfed his whole hand and was, by then, shining brightly.

"How did you...that...fire..." Elsa pointed a finger at his hand.

The prince lightly shrugged.

"Probably the same way you do, Your Majesty. Your will, it does...willingly."

The queen composed herself.

"All my life I had been wondering if there were people like me. Ones who are, you know, not normal."

"As far as I know, there is just you and me and even then our powers are just somehow alike but exactly not identical to each other. Opposites, in fact."

The queen summoned her ice powers and the prince was just as impressed as she was when she saw his fire powers a few minutes ago.

"If I may..." Elsa aimed her had at Bernhard's and he nodded.

She tried to see what would occur if their powers met and nothing happened, at first. She gradually tried to lower the temperature but instead it became even warmer, she dropped it even more, as low as she could possibly get. It turns out that Bernhard's heat adjusts accordingly to the drop and resisted the unnatural cold. She stopped her little experiment and pursed her lips while she looked back and forth at his and her own hands.

"And just when you thought you're the only one with powers." He accidentally let his princely self slip for a moment.

Elsa looked at him sharply.

"I am very sorry, that was really uncalled for I did not mean to offend you, Your Majesty. Please forgive my insolence."

The queen's face softened and she gave a small smile.

"No need to apologize. To tell you the truth, I was quite impressed. Now, what was it you wanted to talk about regarding our powers?"

"As I have said a while ago, I have heard a very detailed story about the incident last summer." Bernhard paused to observe Elsa's reaction.

"I am not sure I like where this conversation is going but please do continue." The queen nodded.

"The details themselves imply that you have difficulty, for no better word, controlling them."

"Go on." she said with both curiosity and suspicion.

"I believe I can help you. I am not saying that I have perfected the use of my own gifts but what I am trying to say is that I have time and experience on my side. Of course, that is not a guarantee that I have mastered them to the point of making no mistake. I still am learning and have no idea whether the learning part will ever stop. I do not even know if the growing of my powers would ever cease. It is highly probable that this is also the case with you."

"What do you propose, Prince Bernhard?"

Now undaunted, he pressed on. "Queen Elsa, I propose you let me help you control them. You might or might not have tried using your powers after the incident last summer but before today. If you did, then that is already a good start. It means you are gradually coming to terms with your situation. Still, you never know if and when you will lose control of your powers. I do not wish to alarm you but you have already witnessed a piece of reality of some of the things they can do, thus you already understand the risk they pose upon yourself and upon others."

"And what do you want in exchange for your tutelage?"

For a moment, the prince had a confused expression on his face.

"Nothing." he said plainly.

"Nothing?" she repeated.

"No, really, none. I would be more than happy and honored to teach you what I already know, thus far, that is, if you will have me. Perhaps, you could teach me things that you do know but I do not. That way, together we will learn. Other than that, there is no need for any further exchange. Fair enough for you, Your Majesty?"

The queen weighed all the pros and cons then finally decided.

"So, when do we start?"

The prince gave a triumphant smile showing his rows of pearly white teeth.

"Whenever Her Majesty wishes."

Elsa could not help but smile along with him.

"As soon as possible. Neither today nor tonight, though. As I have said a while ago, I have to end this potential economic problem before it even begins. There would be a ball in the castle this evening to celebrate the arrival of the autumn season and at the same time make up for that summer incident. I do hope you would join us."

"It would be my pleasure."

"Great, if that is all, Kai has been waiting to escort you to your bedrooms. If you need anything, anything at all, just ask him for whatever it is.

"Uh...I'm sorry what?"

"Kai will accompany you to the guest rooms now, if there is nothing more to discuss."

The queen clapped her gloved hands together, expecting the discussion to be over. The prince, on the other hand, made no movement to make anyone think it is.

**-End of Chapter 1-**

* * *

**Notes on Chapter 1 **

He just had to freakin' kneel, didn't he? Ha! I mean you saw what Hans did when he saw PRINCESS Anna. The guy did it on a boat and almost made them both wet if it weren't for the fjord horse. Maybe Hans just wanted to apologize to the PRINCESS? Flirt with her, perhaps? Why wouldn't Bern do it in front of a QUEEN to whom he feels the need to apologize to for the sake of their kingdom and people? I just doubt that he did it to flirt with the QUEEN, not on purpose, if ever. Young Southern Isles princes and their freakin' etiquette!

Sig's about as broad-shouldered as Oaken from Disney's Frozen, same height too. He isn't as lovable as the big shopkeeper though, not in the same way, at least. People assume that good ol' Oaken's a gay guy and that's fine with me. Sig maybe the world's biggest womanizing giant during that time in the story.


	2. Bedroom Thoughts

Well, didn't really expect any followers yet, not even one but hey, to those that did follow, thanks. I really appreciate it. Makes me feel like I still have a potential to improve. The previous chapter didn't really have much on it so it makes sense that there's no review, not that I'm obligating anyone here haha. It's kind of like a quasi-introduction of the plot and two OCs. Nobody's going to kiss anybody nor going to use fire balls and ice blasts just yet. Anyway, here's the continuation of the story. Hope that you enjoy.

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

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**Chapter 2:**

**Bedroom Thoughts**

* * *

It never occurred to Bernhard that they would be received with such hospitality, especially by a woman who his brother tried to kill in cold blood. The last thing on his mind was staying at a guest room in the castle. The thought of sleeping in the dungeons might have made more sense to him.

"Oh...Uh...I...You...You are too kind, Your...Your Majesty, but we do not wish to be too much of a burden. We have already bothered you and your staff far too much since we have arrived. In fact, we were planning to look for a local inn to stay in after we speak to you."

"It is no trouble at all. It is the least we could do after you took the time and effort to mend a relationship between our kingdoms that was not even torn to begin with. Besides, all the rooms in all the inns in Arendelle have probably been reserved since last week. The autumn celebrations will last for a whole week so people naturally make arrangements for their lodgings a week or so before."

There was a moment of awkward silence before Elsa spoke again.

"I insist, Prince Bernhard, Lord Sigmund. I wish to meet you both for a light meal before the ball. For now, I have some things to do. Go and make yourselves comfortable."

Bernhard and Sigmund glanced at each other before once again bowing before the queen then heading towards the exit.

The prince hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath and then turned back to face Elsa.

"Her Majesty is as generous as she is beautiful. Thank you, Queen Elsa." With that, he quickly nodded once then walked fast to catch up to his brother who beamed at him with narrowed eyes.

This feeling he was having was totally a first for him. His cheeks felt hot and his palms were sweating, ironic for someone with fire powers.

Once they exited the throne room, Sigmund had a full-on smile and was laughing without reservation.

The prince rolled his eyes at him but decided to keep silent.

Kai was subtly observing the two with a raised eyebrow and a finger on his chin before asking them to follow him again as he led them on the way to their rooms.

After passing by a couple of doors, Bernard spoke loud enough to be heard over his Sigmund's unrestricted laughter.

"Kai, please excuse my immature brother's childish antics. He does not usually like to embarrass himself...or me, for that matter."

Kai, shocked that the prince remembers his name, merely gave a small smile and laughed a little.

"How very eloquent, Prince Bernhard! You've stuttered, and more than once too! You've never stuttered while talking to a woman before! In fact, you've never stuttered at all! What happened back there, Bern?"

"There's a first time for everything, I suppose." he answered flatly.

"She's made quite an impression on you, ya? Sure did! Wouldn't blame you, girl's certainly got the looks."

Bernhard slid a hand to his face then put a finger on front of his lips.

"Quiet, You!" he hissed. He was beginning to get annoyed with the teasing.

"Oh and you knelt. Said girl almost called you "Lord Sigmund". Imagine that, you being mistaken for the royal bastard of the Southern Isles."

There was an instant rise in temperature which indicated that the prince was starting to lose his temper.

"Stop it right now, Sig." Slowly, he spoke dangerously low and with a hint of a growl.

Sigmund, practically used to his half-brother's temper by now, instead of backing off, slipped an arm around Bernhard's shoulder. "Okay, okay, I'll quit messing with you."

"And don't get Queen Elsa involved either. If I'm going to stay the night here at a room in the castle, I'd rather not spend it sleeping in the dungeons."

Sigmund smiled from ear to ear and then squeezed his shoulder. "Oh right, as if you could sleep! Ha!"

The majordomo stopped in front of a door and spoke. "This would be your room, Lord Sigmund. I shall send for the servants to attend to your needs.

"There's no need. Also, I'd very much prefer it if you just address me by name alone, just so you know. Thank you." Suddenly serious now, he nodded once to the men before quietly entering the room.

Silence reigned while the two remaining men walked to the next door.

"And this room is yours to stay in, Prince Bernhard."

"Thank you, Kai. Sorry about that, by the way. I thought he would at least wait until we are inside one of the bed rooms before displaying that kind of behavior. He could not keep it in, I guess. Good thing we have managed to get out of the throne room before he started acting like that."

"Oh it really is nothing, Sir. No need to apologize. In all my years of service here, I have frequently heard many people talk about Her Majesty and your conversation about her was really odd in that it was very appreciative. Rarely are such kind words ever spoken regarding Queen Elsa behind her back, especially after this year's summer incident."

"I am sure that she too has been called "monster" on more than one occasion. We certainly need more people like you. Good, compassionate, understanding ones."

"A monster? Too? There's a story behind you too it seems, Prince Bernhard. Oh but you are too kind, Sir, though I am afraid I have accidentally offended Lo...Sigmund."

"He is not exactly very fond of the word "Lord". It is a long story that perhaps I could relate to you some other time. I am afraid I have kept you long enough from things you need to do. We should talk again sometime, you are one of the few people here who is not cold towards me and Sig."

He spoke to the man as if they stood on equal ground, not what one would normally expect from a prince, especially not one from a prosperous island kingdom. This was due to years of encountering commoners, including his crew and the common folk they meet during their many voyages. It is a quality that is rare even in their family, with only him, Sigmund and his late eldest brother, who liked to spend his time with the stable hands tending to their horses, possessing it in their generation.

"Yes, well. You are definitely not Prince Hans. Take care, Sir."

"Former prince. You too, Kai."

With a bow the majordomo left the prince alone in the corridor, in front of his door.

"Thought he'd never leave." Sigmund said after coming out of his room.

"I rather enjoyed talking to the man, you know."

"About what? Your pretty little ice queen? What else could it be?"

"It was me trying to undo the damage you've done after talking about Queen Elsa like that behind her back."

"Like what? What I've said were all good things. Besides, would you rather I talk about her and the way you were around her while she can hear me?"

"Whatever. I'm going to rest for a bit. I want a good nap before we meet her again. Meet me here before dinner time."

"Oh sure, I'd bet you're dying to lie down in bed to-"

He was cut off by Bernhard who slammed the door unnecessarily hard and loud in his face.

"Whoa, take it easy there, Your Hotheadedness."

* * *

Sigmund decided to explore the castle grounds instead of going back to his quarters.

After minutes of exploring he arrived in front of a garrison where guards who are off-duty spent their leisure time.

Along with brothels, taverns were always two of the places that Sigmund visited every time their ship docked, places where he can get easily his hands on women and wine while hardly spending anything on shore. In fact, shrewd gambler as he is, he sometimes got lucky enough to get back to their ship a wealthier man than before he stepped on the coast. He had no fear of bar brawls and drunken duels, being a proficient fighter both with and without a weapon, whether sober or not.

"Sven!"

Just when he decided to enter, a reindeer almost rammed him over, had he not reacted instantly. He barely had time to put up his guard before the animal made contact. Though the reindeer tried to stop, it was a little too late so he was forced to take the brunt of the force, keeping his arms close to his body while tucking his head at first then holding onto the animals antlers while it skid, hooves digging into the ground.

He was not the least bit shaken up and curiously looked at the ones who collided with him. The rider, although a well-built man in his own right, looked at him and gulped visibly and audibly.

"I...I'm so sorry about that, Sir! I didn't see you there and Sven here wasn't looking at where he's going either, seeing as he was distracted by someone selling carrots." stuttered the golden-haired rider.

"It's fine. No damage done here."

It was true. Even if he was hit head-first, he sustained no injuries as he was not hit by any of the antlers' sharp points besides, his blocking was effective.

"Stil..."

He looked around and saw the sign atop the establishment.

"Hey, I know! Let me make it up to you. I was heading this way to buy a snack for me and my buddy here. Maybe I could buy you a drink or two inside?"

Sigmund beamed at him. "Well, I'm not one to turn down an offer so...After you."

Sigmund followed the stranger into the establishment and as soon as they got in, some of the men near the entrance gleefully greeted his acquaintance but others stopped what they were doing and looked at him suspiciously. Their faces were oddly familiar to him but he could not place where he had seen them before.

"C'mon, let's go to the bar. I'm a little parched myself from all that shouting."

Sigmund nodded silently,equally wary as the men who stared at him, glancing every now and then to his left and right. They reached the counter and saw the barkeep, a fair maiden being harassed by a trio of intoxicated guards.

"Excuse me can we-" The blonde man was cutt-off by one of the scoundrel grabbing him by the collar.

"Hey, you! Can't you see she's busy with us at the moment?"

"We'll have two tankards of ale here." Sigmund, without skipping a beat, twisted the fingers of the man who held his companion's shirt and calmly placed an order.

Turning back to the men, he talked in a bored-like manner. "The next time you lay a finger on him might be the last time you have a finger."

The rest of the drunks turned to him then started forming a half-circle surrounding them two, with the third joining them still shaking his aching fingers.

"Well, if it isn't one Her Majesty's visitors...I don't care whose nobleman's son you are but you should've just mind your own business."

"Believe me, I would have, if you fools would've simply let this gentleman here ask for our drinks peacefully."

"You've got some nerve to talk back? You may be a giant but there's three of us and it's not like the fellows will care if we beat up some hulk from the Southern Isles. Let's give him a warm welcome from Arendelle, Boys!"

They tried to attack all at once but even then, were no match for Sigmund's size and skill. He coolly smashed together two of his attackers' heads. The only one left, the one with the pained finger immediately retreated, in a rush to get out of the place he tripped multiple times, with the other guards watching the incident deliberately making him fall by spilling their drinks and throwing food at him then getting their knocked out and out cold friends outside too.

As if nothing had happened, he turned back to the maid, who now looked at him in wide-eyed wonder, and spoke with composure. "We'll have those drinks now."

The guards cheered their visitors, with some going near them with the intention of introducing themselves.

"Kristoff! Who's your friend?" asked one.

"He's a prince of the Southern Isles, Mate!" answered another.

"You idiots! His name is Lord Sigmund. He's a visitor of the queen. Forgive them, My Lord. I was part of the welcoming party this morning and they had no knowledge of your name or look. Also, I apologize on behalf of those three lads. They know better than that and I am sure that the captain would be none too pleased at them." A man, presumably a lieutenant asked for pardon.

"Just Sig's enough and there's no need to say sorry. I was disappointed though. Those three jesters didn't put up much of a fight. Let's just drink, Gents!"

The guards continued their revelry, inviting the two to join them. Some of them gossiped and sang while others resumed, eating, drinking and gambling.

"Kristoff, is it? Nobody's gonna bother you nor this pretty lass while I'm still here." He winked at the young woman and raised both eyebrows in a flirtatious manner, making the coy girl blush and giggle while serving their tankards.

The blonde man was in awe of the feat and quickly took a liking to him.

They spent the rest of their time there with the men joining in their fun and games.

The leader of the guards, the guard-captain entered sometime later then talked with the men, including Sigmund and Kristoff regarding what happened and then ended up joining them. Eventually, he started an arm-wrestling match and his subordinates began betting and competing in it.

* * *

Bernard's room on Arendelle was not nearly as lavish as the one in the Southern Isles but is much more luxurious than the quarters on their ship.

Try as he might, he was still having difficulty sleeping, even after sleepless nights. Especially now that there were way too many things occupying his mind and oddly enough, neither his successful pardon from the queen nor the continuation of trade between their kingdoms were any of those things.

Sure, he accomplished the task his brother had given to him and even managed to secure the trading partnership that they all thought was on the brink of discontinuation in the process, but he is still re-thinking his decision to say. Of course, the king never did explicitly say that he was supposed to return home once his quest was done. Still, he believes that they were expected to set sail for the Southern Isles as soon as the issue was resolved.

He remembered that he was like Elsa once, young Bernhard, wondering if and wishing that there was somebody out there like him until the day came that he realized that he just did not care anymore, the day he believed that the world was better off having only one monster anyway, the day of his self imposed exile.

However, now, that he has met the queen and witnessed her own powers, the near limitless possibilities are overwhelming him so much that he cannot doze off, or that is what he tells himself, at least.

Truth be told, it is not just her powers but the way she looks, talks and moves just stuck to him after their not so brief meeting. What he met was no monster.

Bernhard already smiled goofily only to frown afterwards multiple times because he could not take his mind off Elsa.

He could not understand why. He had interacted with various people along their many journeys. It is not like he has not been faced with stunning women before. The pretty girls who he, had not just talked with, but danced and drank with as well, were in abundance and included nobility, royalty even. He was a gifted smooth talker and a charming ladies man and he knew it but he almost always humbly played it down every time someone pointed it out, it was either that or he merely shrugged, displaying a modest smile on his face.

Now, even his ability to just talk has been hampered. He wondered if it was merely because the queen was different from those other ladies and, in a way, similar to him.

"I probably should've written a letter to Stef first or something. He needed to be informed that I'm planning to stay longer than necessary. Then again, I could always write to him saying I plan to to sail the open waters again when I'm done negotiating with the queen."

He sighed and then yawned. "Better tell him the truth lest I lose his trust if I'm discovered...but I'll get to it later."

"The queen...she certainly is something. It's been a long time since I've met someone who appeared so sure of herself in ruling a kingdom. Although, I feel that deep inside she's just as vulnerable as any of us, maybe even more. She reminds me of both father and mother"

He was getting drowsier by the moment.

"I wonder how her sister is though. Hans was an idiot. Stupidest decision ever made."

Eventually, Bernhard drifted off to a dreamless slumber, certainly a rare blessing considering that, in the past decade or so, each time that he spent at any place he slept in were filled with horrible nightmares, every single one.

If anyone asked Sigmund, why he was now sound asleep, he would surely answer that it had something to do with his brother's "bedroom thoughts" staying with him, keeping him company and keeping him comfortable even in his dreams.

**-End of Chapter 2**

* * *

**Notes On Chapter 2**

There was a bit of an action scene there for Sig, if you could call it that. He can't possibly go all out on the three because he'd be sure to kill them without breaking a sweat. Meanwhile, Bern the normally insomniac one, who thrashed while asleep and sometimes accidentally burned furniture was finally at peace, catching some Z's after thinking about Elsa. There's a backstory behind his wakefulness that's going to be revealed in either the prologue or this story...probably both.

Over the course of the time after Disney's Frozen took place, Kristoff's learned to socialize with others of his own species, with Anna's influence, of course. Being a commoner himself, he was naturally drawn to the common folk including the castle guards. The guardsmen themselves take delight in teasing and teaching him...Guy-things?Man-stuff? Whatever! Boys will always be boys!


	3. Elsa's Flashbacks

No OCs here now. This chapter's mostly about some events that happened in Arendelle Castle before the arrival Bern and Sig. I threw in some scenes of Anna's questioning (interrogation's a more suitable word, I believe) of Elsa about our prince. Lovable little pest. Anyway this story's been "favorited" now, so WooHoo. Thank you. Happy reading.

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

* * *

**Chapter 3:**

**Elsa's Flashbacks**

* * *

"Her Majesty is as beautiful as she is generous. Thank you, Queen Elsa."

As soon as the sentence registered on the queen's mind, her cheeks turned red, something that is not so easy to conceal once she feels. She need not hide it for too long though, for the prince instantly turned his back, even before the words sunk in on Elsa's head.

Elsa was experiencing emotions she could not quite understand, not that she was an expert on them. Bernhard's words made her smile every minute or so.

Minutes passed when the double doors opened and then in came Anna, on a rush to get to the daïs. In her hurry, she tripped on the carpet, her face landing on her older sister's lap.

She shakily stood up, the moment she realized what happened.

The queen, still sitting on the throne, gave her sister a concerned, questioning look while fixing her crown.

"Anna, you're finally here! You're running. Something the matter?"

"Elsa, how'd it go?"

* * *

**-FLASHBACK- (5 Days Ago)**

**Arendelle, Morning**

* * *

"The merchants will start setting up as soon as possible, Your Majesty. Some of them have at least a hundred different wares. Oh and, Ma'am, here, a letter from the King of the Southern Isles."

As with the other castle staff, the majordomo was always up early. His first tasks for the day include delivering the morning report and the letters brought to him by messengers.

"Thank you Kai."

Elsa dismissed him before unrolling the scroll he handed to her.

As she read what was written, she inhaled warm air and exhaled cool breath. The queen closed her eyes and sighed heavily.

"It's fine."

"What's fine?"

"Aaah!"

Her sister snuck up on the queen and startled her from behind, trying to take a peek. Elsa's astonishment caused her to freeze the scroll before it dropped and then promptly shattered when it hit the ground.

She reprimanded the princess after composing herself.

"Anna, you know you shouldn't do that! I might accidentally freeze you! Why are you up this early, by the way? This certainly is a first."

The princess ignored the scolding and instead, stuck out her tongue. Elsa jokingly shook her head in mock disapproval.

Three months ago, the younger girl would not even dream of being playful with her sister but now, she'd take every opportunity she can to do so, even if means risking being at the business end of her powers over ice again.

"Kristoff's taking me on a two-day trip to the North Mountain, two days from now! Isn't that great? I'm so excited that I want to start preparing early today."

"I see."

Elsa was apprehensive. Ever since she thawed the ice on the Kingdom of Arendelle, there was not a day that passed without the two of them spending time together even if for just a short while due to either the queen's royal duties or the princess going off somewhere with the mountain man only to return to the palace before dinner.

The queen, used to concealing her feelings, gave no clue to Anna.

"So, are you going to tell me what's fine or what?"

"What?"

"I said-"

"I heard you the first time, Anna."

"Then why did you...nevermind. So what?"

"What do you mean "what"?"

"Ugh! What's fine, Elsa?"

"Fine. You might as well know now. You'll find out soon enough anyway, one way or another."

Once she made up her mind, there is just no stopping the princess. Afterall, Anna is the girl who insisted on going on a dangerous quest to bring back her sister, when the queen herself had wanted nothing to do with her kingdom anymore at that time.

"Alright then, here it goes. King Stefan of the Southern Isles is sending a couple of ambassadors on official business to Arendelle. He says he desires for us to talk about trade between our kingdoms. My guess though, is that what he really wants the most, sending men here, is to beg pardon for "You Know Who's misdeeds."

"You Know Who"? By that you mean Hans, right?"

"Yes..."

Anna paused before replying, making Elsa nervous about her reaction.

"That's very nice of him. It's a good sign, really. It just means that they didn't take it personally when we sent their frozen-hearted prince back to them in chains and with a bucket on his head, as the guards said after returning to the castle."

Elsa merely stared at her. Anna went on after several seconds of silence and stillness.

"Look, I still am angry with Hans, that's undeniable, but my anger doesn't extend to the other people of their kingdom. Besides, even if those delegates defend him for his actions, I won't get mad at them...not to their faces at least!"

Elsa was speechless at the younger girl's unexpected maturity. She spent a decade and three years without as much as one encounter with her. Now that they have regular interaction with each other, she just sort of got used to her sister's childish ways. Times like these still pleasantly surprise her.

Elsa gave Anna a proud smile and a sisterly hug.

"Do you want me to help you pack?"

"I'd like that very much!" she returned with as much warmth.

**-FLASHBACK OVER-**

* * *

The queen straightened herself in her seat.

"It's fine."

"It's fine? You've got to give me more details than "it's fine"!"

We should go talk somewhere more private.

"Hey, I know! What about your room? I mean it's only fair! We used to share mine but I've never even been in yours. The least you could do is show me inside."

Anna's eyes were sparkling like a hopeful child's when giving a request. Elsa could not help but chuckle at her insistence.

"Alright, alright. My room it is. To be fair though, it used to be OUR room when we were young girls."

On the way, the queen nodded at the staff that greeted them. The normally cheerful princess, on the other hand, was busy silently looking at her elder sister's facial expression. Elsa, noticing this, gave nothing away to Anna.

They entered the royal chamber and Anna curiously wandered around like a pet entering a particular room for the first time.

Elsa hung her cape on a rack and was busy removing her gloves to put on the vanity when she heard a noise coming from her bed.

The princess was bouncing up and down, messing up pillows and blankets. She stopped and from her lying position on the sheets, Anna looked at her sister when she thought of what she was doing and in whose room she was doing it in. The queen had a raised eyebrow and an amused smile on her face, she looked like an adult watching a little child at play.

"Well, at least I'm not under there, being your mattress and all while you insist on playing with my magic and building a snowman in the wee hours of the morning."

Elsa went behind a dressing screen to change into something more comfortable.

Anna, embarrassed at being caught, tried to fix the bed as best as she could and cleared her throat.

"So, about those details...how was he, the prince I mean? Not similar to Hans, I hope."

* * *

**-FLASHBACK- (3 Days Ago)**

**Arendelle, Morning**

* * *

"All the booths are almost ready, Your Majesty. Just a little bit of stocking up left to do and they'll be finished by the end of the week. Oh and one more thing, Ma'am. Here is another letter from King Stefan.

Kai bowed before promptly excusing himself.

"That's odd. They've already sent one last week. Maybe we won't get a visit this week after all."

Elsa began reading, her eyes narrowing by the second. At the end of the letter though, her eyes went as wide as salad plates. She read it twice then three times more and hurriedly walked to Anna's room, trying not to run.

"Anna!" Elsa knocked in a pattern they were both familiar with since childhood.

The groggy princess did not recognize the beat right away.

"Who...is...it? Anna asked through yawn after sleepy yawn in between.

"It's me. I need to talk to you before you meet Kristoff downstairs and leave for your North Mountain trip."

She snapped wide awake and stood on her bed then bolted for the door.

"Good morning, Elsa!"

The queen momentarily forgot about the issue when she saw the princess' disheveled, "just-woke-up" appearance.

"Well, good morning to you too, Sleepyhead. Listen, there's something we need to discuss...privately"

"Elsa, what is it?"

Anna always had a feeling of dread whenever she was to have a "talk" with anybody. She was not to blame though, after all, she had the "talk" with Queen Idun, her mother, when Elsa started shutting people, including her, out. It's not her fault for thinking things might go back to the way they were when the two of them were worlds apart, separated by a cold room's locked door.

Even as children, Elsa always picked up on Anna's thoughts of bad things that might happen though and reassured her otherwise.

She held held both of her sister's warm hands in her cool ones, gave them a squeeze and then led her to the bed. She grabbed a brush and started working on her sister's bed head knots, soothing her.

Elsa felt her sister relax and sigh softly. Anna closed her eyes. She never knew why her sister seems to be the only one who can get her stubborn hair to cooperate.

"Remember two days ago when I told you about the letter from the Southern Isles, by King Stefan?"

Anna opened her eyes and then sighed deeply. "Sure. How could I forget?" she deadpanned.

The queen frowned, hearing the rhetorical question.

"Well it turns out that there was a slight change of plans."

"What, he's not going to send anyone here anymore?"

"No. That's not it. He's going to send...well..."

She trailed off.

"Who, Elsa?"

"One of his younger brothers, Prince Bernhard."

The princess merely looked at her sister. Elsa cringed while watching her sister's passive façade.

"Well, that...certainly changes things. Anna said slowly.

"Look, just promise me you still won't lose your temper, no matter what happens. Just let me deal with him."

"I promise."

"Swear. Keep in mind that this is important, not just for them but for all of us. So, please?"

"I swear."

The queen smiled with relief.

"Good. Thank you, Anna. Now then, take care and be back here in two days. You'll miss the ball and I'll miss you too much if you're not."

"I will."

They hugged tightly for a few seconds. They broke apart shortly. The princess was just about to get out of the room, when she turned back, her hand, inches from the door.

"Oh and, Elsa, don't have any second thoughts about freezing him if you must."

"Take care." The queen nodded.

When her sister exited, she hung her head low and whispered to herself, almost inaudibly. "Alone again."

The last time she felt alone was when she isolated herself in the North Mountains in Arendelle because became upset, inadvertently freezing the kingdom she was supposed to rule over. At that time she felt free. This time though, she felt trapped inside the castle walls without her sister's company.

She decided to go to the place that would most likely take her mind off the princess' current absence and the prince's coming presence. She made her way to the library to read.

**-FLASHBACK OVER-**

* * *

The queen smiled a little as she thought about the memory of the prince's words and actions.

"He was...certainly not what I expected, to say the least."

"Prince Bernhard has the same proper, princely etiquette that his younger brother had, that's for sure. The difference is that he seemed really genuine."

"Well, Hans seemed really genuine too..."

"Anna, he proposed marriage to you, merely hours after you two first met."

"I thought it was true love. It turned out that it was his true love, though not for me, but for power."

"Now that I think about it, at least they didn't send him. As much as I'd like to see that dangerous snake on his knees, kissing your feet just so he could be forgiven, it's not safe for anyone, especially himself, if he were to ever return here, crossing our borders. That heartless...ugh! I hate him, Elsa.

Elsa exited behind the dressing screen and then patted Anna's back, trying to soothe her sister.

"Hmmm, Prince Bernhard...What did he say too you? When can I meet him? Where is he now?" The princess had endless questions but her lips curled into a cheeky smile when she had an interesting idea of what to ask next.

"Oh, Elsa...was he good-looking?"

* * *

**-FLASHBACK- (1 Day Ago)**

**Arendelle, Noon**

* * *

The castle halls were eerily quiet, like they were yesterday. With the exception of the occasional guard or servant, the corridors were empty, dominated by deafening silence.

The library, normally devoid of life at this time of the day, had a lone soul sleeping at one of the chairs.

Elsa was sleeping soundly, her head in between an open book on a table.

As opposed to Bernhard's ever morbid and always violent naps, the queen's slumber consisted of her appearing like a cold corpse, without sound and without movement, no matter in what position she was in, apparently.

Unlike Anna, the queen always looked perfect when she woke up. No bed head, dried spittle, no sand at the corner of her eyes, as if she was never asleep.

Said queen was up all night reading a book about the Kingdom of the Southern Isles, she woke up shortly after noon. Realizing what time it is, mentally slapped herself awake.

She stood up, stretched herself and then made her way out of the room when she bumped into Olaf just outside the door.

"Olaf?"

"Oh hi, Elsa!"

"Hello. Where are you going?"

"To the library."

"Why?"

"To read."

"You can read?"

"No, I don't think so? But I'll try. Anna was supposed to read to me today but she can't 'cause she's with Kristoff and Sven somewhere in the North Mountain. They asked me to come with them yesterday but I thought I should spend more time with you but you're always busy and-"

"Awww, that's so sweet of you Olaf!" Elsa kneeled and hugged the snowman, effectively cutting his babbling. He tends to over-explain things like her sister.

"Of course, you created me. Remember that?"

"Of course, I do. Listen, how about I read to you and do whatever else it is you do with Anna, hmm? I'm just going to grab a quick bite to eat and then check the progress of the preparations."

"Okay!" Olaf cheered, ecstatic that he's going to spend the day with his creator.

Elsa did what she had to do and then went back to the library with the Olaf. She read him a couple of stories and also taught him how to read a few words so he could be the one reading next time. Eventually Gerda found them and announced that it was time for dinner insisting that they come then for the queen barely ate today.

Elsa ate dinner while Olaf mostly entertained her. They went to inspect the finishing touches for the tomorrow's ball before the snowman asked if the queen could make it snow in the ballroom like when he was first created. Elsa approved.

Elsa was more than a little enthusiastic in her use of magic. There was no need to fear hurting anyone with her powers and that gave her profound confidence.

They were laughing when they finished playing. The queen had not felt this free since she was eight, even when she was alone in her ice castle. They chatted a little while resting on the snow.

"I had fun today, Elsa. We should do this more often."

"I agree. We should."

"I wish Anna was here with us."

"Me too. It's only been a day and a night since they left but I already miss her so."

"But it's okay, as long as she's happy. She really loves Kristoff and he loves her back."

Elsa kept silent but nodded. She was reminded how observant the snowman could be. People had this tendency to overlook him, given his child-like demeanor but what they tend to forget was that while they lived their lives everyday, this being watched them, basing his words and actions to try to fit in with the humans.

"Don't you love anyone too, Elsa?"

"I love you and Anna." she answered consciously missing the snowman's point.

"I mean like how Anna loves Kristoff."

She sighed in defeat, giving up on avoiding the question.

"I don't really have anyone to love like that, Olaf."

"Is it because of your magic?"

"That's...one of the reasons."

"I'd understand if you'd like to get rid of them. Anna and Kristoff look so happy together and they have no powers. They never fear that they could freeze each other solid."

The queen found the snowman's strange wisdom taking her on the verge of tears.

"Oh Olaf, I'd never want to rid myself of my magic. If ever I'm going to love someone, he can't be someone who wants me to change because he can't accept me just the way I am. My powers are a part of me just like you and your flurry are."

Truly, she treated him not like a mere creation, but like a little brother, reassuring him that she won't ever abandon him.

**-FLASHBACK OVER-**

* * *

The queen had already finished changing clothes and was now wearing something comfier. Despite this though, she felt even more hot and strangled than when she was in her coronation gown after hearing her sister's question. Although she was currently not saying anything, the blush that appeared on her face says it all.

Anna's smile grew bigger and then she nudged Elsa's side.

The queen cleared her throat and tried her best to rid herself of the color that tinged her pale, freckled skin before speaking matter-of-factly.

"He is, in a way...attractive."

"Aha! I knew it! No way "Handsome Hans" is the only "pretty-boy" in their family!"

The queen quickly got inches away and whispered at the princess, chiding her. "Shhh. Anna, he might hear you, Kristoff might hear you."

"Pshhh, oh he knows I love him. Besides, I don't like green-eyed, auburn-haired, side-burned jerks anymore. I'm into blonde, rugged, muscular mountain men now."

"It's you I'm not so sure about. What do you like, Elsa?" She winked at her sister and added.

"I'd like it if you didn't think about boys all the time, Anna."

The girl pouted.

"Why? I mean, it's not like young noblemen aren't lining up for you to grace them with your presence!"

At this she got an eye roll.

There was a knock at the door.

"Who is it?" They chimed simultaneously.

"It's Gerda, Ma'ams.

"Gerda!"

"Enter."

Gerda, their handmaiden, was carrying a tray of tea, biscuits and glassware. She set them up on a small table.

Kai and Gerda were two of the only few that remained working there when the castle staff was reduced. They are also two of the most trusted servants of the family.

They started working for the royals in Arendelle back when they were both youths, when their respective parents were still alive and at the service of the last king's parents. As such, they were present during all the important events including the birth of the previous ruler, King Agdar, his wedding, both pregnancies of the his queen and subsequent births of their daughters, Anna's childhood accident, their parents deaths, Elsa's coronation and the Frozen Summer and the Great Thaw.

The servants grew fond of the sisters as they did to them. They sort of became parental figures to the young women when their parents died at sea.

The sisters gratefully thanked the older woman for the snacks.

"You're quite welcome, Dearies. It always makes me so happy to see you two spending time together like you did as young girls. Such adorable, lovable little angels you are."

The older woman cupped Anna's cheek, the girl leaned in to the touch and hugged her then Elsa joined in the affectionate exchange too.

"Oh Gerda have you heard? A prince from the Southern Isles is here in the castle." Anna asked while looking at her sister.

Elsa, crossed her arms, drew her eyebrows together and then shook her head.

"Oh yes, Dear. Kai's told me all about him. Escorted him and his brother to their rooms, you see. He said they walked together and on the way Prince Bernhard spoke nothing but kind words about Her Majesty. Though they say he talked like..."

"His brother, Prince Hans?" Anna finished for the handmaiden.

Gerda patted the younger girl's back, feeling sorry for and comforting her. "It's okay, Gerda. It's over now and I got to punch his perfect little nose like this!" she cheerfully quipped and punched the air.

They all laughed at the princess' reenactment.

**-End of Chapter 3-**

* * *

**Notes on Chapter 3**

Shhh. Bern's getting some much desired sleep and Sig's busy being...well...Sig!

By now, Elsa got used to Anna's curoisity again, like she already was years ago, so much that she just rolls with it. It doesn't mean that her little sister can't have her way and make her blush as red as a certain reindeer's nose every now and then. She did so successfully when she asked about Bern. Still, she just can't get enough of her younger sister's presence, which makes things complicated every time that she has to leave her alone. Also, her being engaged to Kristoff doesn't make matters less complicated.

Don't feel sorry for the queen though. Her answer to Olaf might be different the next time he asks her whether she has her own person to love just like the princess does.


	4. Dinner Time

Well...still no review huh? Haha, never mind that. I'll just continue posting new chapters and hopefully somewhere along the way my writing will start to develop significantly! Anyways, I gave the lovebirds (not yet) a scene where they hung out (sort of), something else to bond over besides their powers. The regal queen and the roguish prince both have a love of books and reading. Hurrah! Read on.

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

**Dinner Time**

* * *

No matter how deep Bernard's sleep seems to be, he will always be a light sleeper, his senses are ever alert even if he appears to have shut the world out.

He has been sleeping, miraculously, for six hours straight when there was a knock on his door. Instantly, his eyes opened and, in a flash, he was standing on the floor and straining his ears.

"Who is it?" The prince asked in a sort of sing-song voice.

"Kai. Oh sorry to wake you, Sir." answered from the other side.

"No, no, no, I've been up for hours." He stiffened a yawn.

"Well, Sir, I have come to tell you that dinner will be ready in about an hour or so. I have already told Sigmund and he said he will meet you at the dining hall."

"Oh, thank you, Kai. I will get ready right away."

"I shall be waiting here outside to escort you, Sir."

"No, no, do not worry, my good man. I will just find my way...as soon as I find my shoes, but thank you for the offer." He dismissed him.

The majordomo, though unseen by the prince, bowed and excused himself.

Bernhard muttered to himself on the way to his wardrobe."I told him to meet me here before dinner time."

The prince started to dress up in his formal wear.

He wore white pants with a red stripe on each side, a black and blue dress uniform jacket with silver patterns and epaulets, a red cape and a red sash on his right shoulder. His hands wore white gloves that fully covered his hands, from wrists to fingertips. His black dress shoes, did not look used in the slightest since he seldom wore them. He inserted his silver chain on a custom-made hole in his side so that the orange crest would look pinned to his right midsection, below his sash. A badge, shaped like a lily, symbolizing his status as a member of the Southern Isles' royal family was pinned on the left side of his chest, above his sash and was attached to his left shoulder by a silver-colored braid.

Bernhard, like Sigmund, was not inclined to wear formal wear but unlike him, learned to at least tolerate it at a very young age, as a prince. Tonight though, he was having second thoughts.

"Oh, would you look at that. It's not like what you're wearing is a little bit too Southern Isle-ish. I'm sure no one would recognize you as an older brother of a traitorous prince from there. I mean you hardly look related to that stupid idiot of a traitor."

He was looking at a mirror while putting more pomade in his hair and combing it down. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, gave his reflection one last look and then left his room.

He came back in as soon as he stepped out of the door and then turned back to retrieve two parcels from his personal stash before going back to the hallway.

As he learned to do over the years of visiting one kingdom after another, he put in effort to make his perfect posture and flawless movements look effortless. One would normally not think that he is a prince who had exiled himself from his own kingdom.

He found the passing guards not treating him the same way they did earlier that day, with them giving him respectful salutes instead of cold stares this time and he, in turn, nodding firmly to them.

The maid servants were giggling and gossiping amongst themselves about him before and after he passed by. From them he received warm "good evenings" and he returned them with a courteous smile on his face.

After asking some of the giddy girls politely, he eventually found himself in front of the door to the dining hall. As he always did when he was facing an unknown situation or when unsure of an opponent, he closed his eyes and took deep breaths.

He pushed open the doors and saw Elsa sitting on the head of the dining table and reading a book.

The moth was once again drawn to a light but this time, he was the one slowly making the move to get closer. He stared all the way, freely taking in the sight before him.

She now wore her hair in a bun, with her bangs parted mostly to the left and leaving some short ones to the right. She was now wearing the indigo dress jacket she changed into earlier, it had black and purple accents and a blue spherical gemstone embedded at the base of the collar. Now, her hands were bare of any gloves.

Like the encounter in the throne room, the royals' blue eyes met once again when the queen unexpectedly looked up from the reading material.

The prince caught himself staring then snapped out of it and instantly averted his gaze, looking down at the table instead.

"Y-Your Majesty, I apologize I did not mean to stare."

The queen smiled at him.

"Good evening to you too, Prince Bernhard. Please, have a seat."

The prince took the seat on the queen's left and had his eyes looking everywhere but the queen. There was a moment of awkward silence when Elsa gave off a light chuckle.

Bernhard made the mistake of looking at her but composed himself and tried not to gawk.

"Oh, please excuse me. It's just that I've been receiving countless apologies from you, since earlier this day, without you actually doing anything wrong."

Bernhard smiled sheepishly. "Offending you is not something I'd fancy doing, Queen Elsa. Best be careful not to do that." He let off his own light chuckle and then adjusted his collar for comfort.

"You need not worry about that, Prince Bernhard. Everyone in the castle seems very pleased to have your presence here and I'm not just saying that for a mere compliment. It's a fact."

At that statement he relaxed a little bit. "Hopefully "everyone" includes you, Queen Elsa. More than once after the meeting, I've thought I'd been to bold with my proposition, thinking I should've held my tongue and chose my words well before speaking."

"You're not going to change your mind now, are you?"

"No, Your Majesty, not as long as you don't. It's just a thought."

"Great decision from us both then." She smiled and then nodded once.

He too smiled and then cleared his throat.

"So, Queen Elsa, do you mind me asking what you're reading?"

Bernhard attempted to take the friendly route that Elsa seemed planning on taking too.

"Oh this? Not at all. It's a book about castles all over the world and their designs and functions. Probably nothing of interest to one such as you, Prince Bernhard."

Her cheeks were turning red again, feeling that her choice of reading materials were considered uninteresting except by her and her father, King Agdar.

"One such as me? Perish the thought, Queen Elsa! I'm interested in a variety of things, thus a wide selection of materials to read and please, just Bernard's enough."

"Then just call me Elsa. This is not exactly a book that would tickle just about everyone's fancy."

"I guess It's not something that speaks of tragedy nor comedy but a nation's edifices, a kingdom's castle included, tells the readers something about the story of a particular place's people. It sort of shows you their culture, how they lived, what they did, who they were up against and the other things about their way of life. I certainly find that interesting enough."

Elsa smiled at Bernhard's genuine appreciation and continued listening intently.

"You know, I've seen a lot of castles in our travels, been inside them too just like now and I can tell you, Arendelle's one of the most beautiful. I've only been here twice though, now and once, with my father when I was but a child of three years. Your kingdom's unique kind of dragon style, most prominent in your own stave church, never ceases to amaze me."

"Were you interested in dragons?"

"Ah but of course. I've never known a boy who wasn't. Own them, train them, ride them, fight them, slay them, just about every lad I knew probably played pretend doing at least one of these things. Even the lasses fantasized about being rescued from one."

"Not this girl. I often daydreamed that I was the one freeing the dragon."

"We could've been great and wonderful playmates then."

They both laughed heartily

"I don't remember meeting you here though, Bernhard."

"Well, Elsa, it was about twenty one years ago. I don't believe we've met though, for surely I would've remembered you even more so than the dragestil."

"You were three and it was twenty one years ago...that makes you twenty four. You're three years my senior."

"Aha! The former queen was pregnant when I was first here, that means she was carrying you when I first visited Arendelle."

They both laughed, amused at the discovery of their "supposedly first meeting". They had been talking for merely a quarter of an hour but they both felt like old friends who have not met each other for a long, long time.

The doors opened and in came along two sets of footsteps one, slow and steady, the other practically on a rush to get to the table.

Anna took a seat on the right side of Elsa and Kristoff took the seat next to her. The blonde man gave Bernhard an emotionless, scrutinizing gaze.

The prince subtly placed the parcels he carried in his chair, stood up straight and bowed.

The princess spoke without a trace of emotion, not even giving him a chance to introduce himself.

"Prince Bernard of the Southern Isles, I presume?"

The queen, suddenly nervous now, replied for him.

"Yes, Anna." There was an edge in her voice.

"One of Hans's older brothers?"

"Yes, Anna." There was a hint of a warning on her tone.

Anna paused and narrowed her eyes then broke in to a smile. "Why, he IS gorgeous! But he doesn't look at all anything like him." The princess exclaimed loudly, after a beat.

Kristoff put a palm to his face at the princess' frank but quite forward honesty.

Bernhard paused before sitting down. The prince was more than used to compliments regarding his looks but the confirmation from the princess and the implication that it originally came from her older sister made him feel good in ways that are new to him.

Of all the times the queen's cheeks became rose red on this particular day, the one after this particular statement of her sister has got to be the most intense.

To Anna's credit, she was right. Even Bernhard's chiseled features do not resembele Hans', or any of his brothers' looks for that matter.

Also, in his family he is the only one to have black hair. All of his brothers had auburn hair, just like their father. He also did not inherit his mother's dark brown hair which, judging from his half-brother's eyebrows, would've been almost, if not exactly, the same shade and color as Sigmund's hair if he did not shave it all off. It was ironic since he was the only child in their family who was not a birth offspring of Queen Sonja the Wise, their mother.

It is only expected then, that when all of them were required to be at the same room, the twelfth prince will definitely stand out.

Another person entered the room, but while Anna and Kristoff looked in the entrance's direction, Bernhard looked at Elsa with both eyebrows raised and a lopsided grin. The queen mouthed the words "I'm sorry" to him.

"I beg your pardon for being late, Queen Elsa. The guards wouldn't let me go." Sigmund announced gruffly and beamed triumphantly.

Bernhard gave him a concerned, questioning look and opened his mouth to talk but Kristoff beat him to it.

"So did you beat them all?" He finally spoke, curiously.

"Beat them all? Sure did! Didn't stand a chance, ya?"

Anna clapped and Kristoff too was cheering. Elsa was watching the whole exchange silently when Bernhard spoke low and slow.

"Sig, WHAT. DID. YOU. DO!?"

"You DO talk!" The Anna said playfully to Bernhard.

Sigmund amused at his half-brother's paranoia decided to indulge him a little.

"Broke them. Broke about a whole legion of guards' arms. Nothing special."

"You did what!?"

"Spirit, I mean spirit, I broke their spirit, not their arms, Bern. Not everyone can be nearly as much of a good sport as Kristoff is. Knows how to take a blow like a man, this one."

The two laughed amongst themselves.

"Kristoff's undefeated in arm wrestling here in Arendelle but that was before Sig came along. He must be the strongest man here now." Anna told Elsa excitedly.

"What about you, Bern?"

The princess asked curiously.

Elsa cringed slightly at her sister's lack of formality.

The prince whispered back, only enough for the three of them to hear. "Just strong enough, I think. I know I defeated Sig once at arm wrestling. He never let me hear the end of it. He claimed that I cheated even though all the men clearly saw us and said otherwise. Don't tell him though, he doesn't take it too lightly. He winked at Anna.

The mountain man saw this and put a protective arm around the girl.

Finally, dinner was served. Elsa led a prayer and they began eating afterwards.

"You know, Bernhard, you're very different from Hans."

"Anna." The queen reprimanded before trying for the save.

"What my sister means is that..." Elsa trailed off.

"It's okay, Your Majesty. I should hope so." He nodded to the younger girl.

He unintentionally put his walls back up. Still, he managed to put on a friendly smile before pressing on.

"What he did was unforgivable and unforgettable. I've already asked for forgiveness from Queen Elsa but I also want to extend mine and my brothers' sincerest apologies for our youngest brothers' misdeeds to you, Princess Anna. I can assure you, the only similarities that he and I have are the same blood running through our veins and nothing else."

He understood why the girl could not stop comparing him to Hans. Since his boyhood, everyone just seemed to naturally presume that every single lad in his family wanted his turn at being king. They had this assumption that they were jealous of King Filip then and King Stefan now, when in truth this only really applied to their very envious youngest sibling.

Everyone else at the table was at a loss for words.

Anna spoke. "Oh. Well, you do have the same proper way of talking as him."

She went on with a small smile. "Actually, I was talking about you being all very fit while he appeared much leaner than you."

"Oh that...my mistake then." The prince was a little embarrassed but kept on talking to keep the situation from being more awkward.

"You see, he was raised living inside our castle's walls while Sig and I grew up sailing. We have a crew on board but running and maintaining a ship isn't something done quite so easily, so over time we've gotten used to helping with the hard work, not to mention dealing with countless pirates at sea and cutthroats and cutpurses on land. Just imagine if we used the Southern Isles' colors, privateers of enemy nations would chase our tails, chase our sails!"

"It must be quite a life, full of adventures and excitement!" Anna exclaimed with childlike wonder.

"It is. It can be quite lonely at times though."

They finished the rest of the meal with Anna and Sigmund talking back and forth. The other three listened most of the time with Kristoff and Bernhard occasionally responding verbally. Elsa just kept to herself but nodded and laughed along with them.

When everyone was done, they set off to prepare for the coming ball, with the exception of the prince who was already dressed up for it.

Elsa was the last to stand up. Before she could leave the dining hall though, the Bernhard offered her one of the the parcels he was carrying and placed in his lap during dinner.

"Here, Elsa. Just a little something from Belgium, they're called pralines."

"Belgian chocolate?"

"The bittersweet kind."

"Wow...Thank you, Bernhard."

With a welcoming smile on his face and one last flourishing bow, he went on his way.

**-End of Chapter 4-**

* * *

**Notes on Chapter 4**

And now, we're finally getting somewhere. Every or at least almost every romantic relationship started of as a one between friends before they eventually became lovers. Bernhard and Elsa's won't be an exception. Afterall, the queen needs one who can thaw her cold heart and the prince, in turn, needs one who can chill his hothead.

Note to self: Think of something to fill Anna's mouth with on the next chapter...or else.


	5. The Sky's Awake

Alright! Reviews! Thanks, **Hannah ** and **reneeogg**! I know this isn't one of those "Oooh-Aaah", awesome, amazing stories. Trust me, I've read those kinds and not just the Frozen ones too. I especially enjoy the ones with humor. Unfortunetely, am not exactly very talented in that department ahehe. But who knows, right? I really hope you guys can stay with with me until we get to the really fun parts, but for now, enjoy, guys!

P.S. I'll be posting the start of the prologue very soon. Just wanted to let you know, you know? It's kind of like an intro to FrostFlame's Chapter 1.

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

* * *

**Chapter 5:**

**The Sky's Awake**

* * *

Light and early dinners for royalty before evening celebrations were very common.

Noblemen have almost no time to eat during social events for they are busy doing just that. Being social. Socializing.

Mingling with socialites was actually better off accompanied by dance and drink, not that the queen would let the princess indulge in any form and in any amount of wine.

Elsa once again changed her attire. She was now wearing a gown made of ice. It looked like the dress she first made but was deemed less revealing by her. It suited balls like the one tonight, in her opinion. She was twirling in front of a mirror when there was a knock on the door.

"Enter."

Anna stood in the door frame with her mouth full. "Wow, Elsa! That's beautiful!" she said after swallowing.

Her elder sister gave her outfit a quick scan. The princess changed in to a mint cream-colored blouse with light blue accents, its sleeves running all the way down to her wrists. She wore over it, a gray four-buttoned, pinafore dress, having green and black lining and flowers with bushes printed at the skirt Her footwear for the night was a pair of brown leather shoes with golden patterns. She had a matching brooch, made of gold and silver, pinned to her neckline.

"Thank you. I made it myself. You look beautifuller though."

They both laughed simultaneously, remembering the younger woman's first attempt at communicating with her sister after a such a long time during the coronation."

"So, what are you eating?"

The princess popped another one of it in her mouth and closed her eyes while chewing.

"Mmm, chocolate...from Bern! It tastes really good. Oh I'm absolutely sure Prince Charming gave you a box of these too"

She opened her drawer and the showed her own unopened box.

"He did. Belgian pralines. My favorite...but I haven't eaten them...yet?"

Ever the wary one, Elsa was a bit suspicious of the gift. Even if Bernhard totally did nothing for her to be like that, she still had a little doubt at the back of her mind.

"Well, are you going to eat those or not? 'cause if you aren't, you could always give them to me."

She quickly stashed it back to her storage, placing it in the farthest corner.

"Has it even occurred to you that they may be poisoned or something?"

"Not really. He was sort of nice. In a real kind of way, I mean. Unlike his younger brother."

"You should really stop doing that." Elsa tried to chide Anna sternly but the amused tone of voice she was using gave her away.

"Doing what?"

"You know, provoking him like you did earlier this evening. You shouldn't compare him to his devious brother, just like that.

"I can't help it. It really IS hard to believe he is at all related to Hans. Besides, aren't you the one suspecting him of poisoning the chocolate or something, hmmm?"

"I'm just being cautious. I can't help but beware just about any foreign man, let alone one from the Southern Isles and Hans' brother too, at that. It may be harsh, unfair and judgemental but better that than to trust and be betrayed once again."

"You're right. I'll be careful."

"Good, let's braid your hair."

* * *

After getting ready, they both made their way to the ballroom.

There were many people in attendance, though not as many as on Elsa's coronation day.

Anna made her way to Kristoff. Elsa scanned the crowd, looking for a certain prince. She did not have long before it was almost time for them to be presented by the majordomo.

Kai cleared his throat and then announced loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

"Presenting: Queen Elsa of Arendelle; Princess Anna of Arendelle.

Most of the people in attendance cheered, some gave no reaction and a few whispered amongst themselves, most likely rumors. Nobles especially enjoyed gossip, especially the "scandalous" ones.

The musicians started playing. Some danced in the ballroom, others resumed chatting.

Anna wanted to dance with Kristoff but the mountain man, not knowing how to do so, preferred to stay on the side, leaning against the wall, likely looking for someone he could actually talk too and be confident about not embarrassing himself nor Anna. The princess settled on chatting with the other young women.

Though she too was closed off to the outside world for most of her life, Anna was a natural born social butterfly.

In contrast to her sister, Elsa merely tolerated the company of other people because she has to. As queen to be, she mentally and emotionally prepared herself for it a long time ago, as an adolescent.

"Your Majesty, may I present: Earl Aodh of Kildare." Kai indicated the man beside him.

Said man was an Irish, older, balding, gentleman with a huge belly and was hard of hearing. Elsa initially thought they would talk about business matters. It turned out that he intended to court her.

He bowed and spoke to her slowly. The queen was used to topics that were not particularly interesting but she just about had the most boring conversation of her life so far. Still, trying to be a good host and a great queen, she politely nodded and listened, sometimes expressing her own opinion on the matters as courteously as she could.

The man eventually excused himself saying that he needed to rest his knees. He looked older, ancient even, compared to the Duke of Weselton, for God's sake!

She finally saw a glimpse of Bernhard, making she smiled a little bit. He was walking towards her when he was intercepted by the old man she was just talking to moments ago. They seemed quite familiar with each other the elder even appeared to enjoy meeting the prince and patted his back like an uncle pleased to see his nephew.

After they he was done greeting the senior, Bernhard made his way to her again. He was almost at the bottom of the dais when the majordomo introduced another man, likely vying for the monarch's hand.

"Your Majesty, may I present: _Vizconde_ Santiago of Niebla." Kai indicated the man behind him.

This one was young. A little bit too young in Elsa's opinion. A lanky, spectacled, effeminate Spanish lad who looked like he was barely in his late teens.

To an observer, it would look as if the boy found either his shoes or the floor interesting. After some time, he looked to his left then his right and leaned in close as if going to whisper something to Elsa. The queen pitied the nervous lad so obliged, letting him near her personal space.

He told her that he was forced through fear by his mother to approach her and although he found the queen attractive, he neither had the guts nor the will to compete for her hand in marriage. Elsa felt sorry for him and told him to tell his mother that he was more suited to Princess Anna for they were closer when it comes to age. He agreed and thanked her profusely for the advice.

Elsa, by now, was weary of meeting men, probably only after the throne. Sitting down, she put a hand to her face and covered her eyes then rubbed her palm all the way to her chin.

When she can see again, she found that a gloved hand was extended to her own.

"A lovely lady shouldn't be all by herself in a social gathering, especially not a beautiful queen. May I have this dance?"

She saw Bernhard with his crooked smile. She blushed before looking down to hide it. "O-Oh...thank you...only I don't dance...but my sister does." She fought hard against the powerful urge to take his hand and accept.

When she recommended her sister to the previous man in front of her, it was a clever ploy to get back at Anna and let her deal with the boy and his mother for teasing her. This time though, she just did not know what to say and in her panic, pointed to Anna again, as she usually did when someone offers her a dance.

"Oh. Well then, would you at least tolerate my company for awhile. I mean, I'd understand it if you decide otherwise. You didn't seem too keen on the idea of being with the last two men who approached you. Please, bear with me and my insistence." His kind smile reflected his sincerity.

"No! No, no, no. They're uhmmmm..." She was having a hard time trying to explain.

"Suitors? When I said "being with them", I didn't mean marrying them, just so you know."

She merely nodded before clearing her throat.

"I'd like it if you'd stay with me for tonight...I mean if you want to. If it's okay with you." She was babbling rapidly, word after word.

She was mentally slapping herself for the way she was talking and thought it awkward so she decided to just shut her mouth, lest she make it worse.

"I'd love to."

He saw Sigmund waving at him from the doorway to the courtyard. "But I just have to take care of something first. I'll be with you shortly. Sig, over there, wouldn't do that if it's not a very important matter."

Moments after he left, another man was with Kai, probably for the same reason as the last two before the prince came along.

"Your Majesty, may I present-" He was interrupted by him.

"Nathan, Duke of Burgundy. Charmed. I am sure." He purred with a thick accent.

He was a tall, muscular, handsome, bearded and mustached, French man with his hair slicked back.

He held the queen's hand and kissed it, brushing her skin, through her glove, with his mustache. Elsa, startled at the sudden contact, withdrew it quickly and with irritation but before she could speak one word, Bernhard spoke up first.

"Queen Elsa, I am back. The moon looked even lovelier than usual, just like you do tonight. It is a wonder how that is possible, you being more and more beautiful. Care to join me for a walk outside, like you promised?" He winked at her.

"You insolent bas-"

Turning to the prince, he instinctively held his tongue.

The prince had on a passive face, with his chin raised, looking down at the man. "What is the matter friend, did the cat catch your tongue?"

"I-It's you! You're the one they call the Crimson Demon!"

"I had been called names, some kinder than others, but yes. Yes I am...and you, Sir, are?"

"Nathan, Duke of Burgundy. The only son, sole heir of the man your brutish associate, the Silver Devil, shamelessly humiliated."

"Hmmm, where have I heard that name before, I wonder. Let me think. Oh yes! I remember now, the child of that man who drunkenly assaulted an equally drunk Sig. How could I forget."

"You still hadn't paid for shaming my father and you will pay for interrupting me! I will personally see to it that you will regret this night and the night you disgraced my father and I!"

"Good luck with that, friend. Now then, Nathan, Duke of Burgundy, please excuse us, the queen and I, we are going to get some fresh air outside now, thank you very much." He said it in a smug sort of way.

He offered his arm to Elsa and she took it willingly, eager to get away from the duke.

When they got outside, Elsa made her gratitude known.

"I'm very grateful for what you did back there. I could've frozen him solid if you didn't interfere. There most likely won't be a third chance for me to make up for it."

"Anything that pleases her majesty, pleases me." He said, imitating the man's accent.

That received a hearty laugh from the queen. He was momentarily mesmerized for it was the first time he heard Elsa laugh that way, she looked so free, in contrast to this morning's Queen Elsa.

They sat at a bench near the fountain.

"That's what Sig called me for. He wanted to warn me that the duke's son, who's the duke now, was here. He thought he might make a scene or something."

"I've seen his father before, you know, when I was young. The man often caused quarrels in court, delaying the meetings. They're relatives of the King of France"

"Yeah. Not exactly the friendliest people in the world, but they're actually hospitable."

"So, the Crimson Demon and the Silver Devil, huh?"

"Also known as the Royal Monster and the Royal Bastard, both from the Southern Isles."

He smiled a little, with a hint of sadness.

"Oh yeah, I know how it feels like. How'd you know Duke Facial Hair and his papa anyway?"

The prince chuckled at her attempt to give a nickname.

"We were on port at their coast when his father, possessing the same amount of confidence that he has, if not more, invited us over when he learned of our presence there. I wished to decline the invitation but Sig convinced me not to. Said something about it being rude. He could be very persuasive if he wants to, you see."

"Anyway, I should've known that he just desired women and wine then...as he always does. To make this long story short, they both got drunk. He offered to make all of his daughters, four of them, to make our stay more "comfortable". Sig, being the man he is, accepted it. I rejected it, as usual, opting to spend the night reading instead."

"At first, I heard noises, Sig being "comforted" by the four. Then there was a loud noise. And I would've ignored it too, if not for the screams, and I don't mean screams of "comforting" women."

"Next thing I knew, he and the elder duke were having a drunken duel, looked more like a brawl than anything, actually, then Sig spared his life which was, in reality, even more of an embarrassment than mere defeat to them. We just left, with Sig satisfied on wine, women and a war, as he called it."

Elsa was speechless. The prince laughed softly, though slightly nervous, to ease the tension in the air. He thought he narrated too much of the information he knows.

"What? Still too much?"

"No, it's just...I mean, we're both adults here. It's just that..."

The prince steered their conversation away from the story he just related to the queen.

"Let's just talk about something else, shall we? Did you know that I know all three men who went to you this evening?"

"Well, I saw you greeting the earl and I'm aware of you being quite acquainted with the duke. What about the viscount? Is he familiar to you?"

"His father, a former count, is one of our crewmen. He's called "_Conde_ Yago", our one-eyed navigator. Not one to be soft-spoken, like his boy but definitely has a soft-spot for the lad and can definitely handle himself in a fight...You should see him when he's had a few glasses."

"I see. You know a lot of people from your travels."

"Yes. Yes, I do."

There was a moment of silence, but unlike the previous ones they've had since they've met, this was not at all awkward. Just the two of them enjoying the quietness.

"By the way, thank you again for taking me outside. I really like it better here. I'm getting sick of men."

The prince raised an eyebrow as his lips curled to one side.

"Not you. It's them I mean."

"You're very welcome, but I didn't take you out here to merely keep you away from them. Look, Elsa, the sky's awake."

They both stared at the vast horizon. The full moon was out and with it are hundreds and thousands of twinkling stars.

"Lovely, isn't it?

"It's beautiful, Bern."

The prince looked at her with a smile and she looked back with wide eyes then stuttered a bit.

"W-what I meant was...can I call you that? Everyone, even Anna, seems to call you that."

"You can call me anything you like. I did say that I have many names. Coming from you though, I'd prefer it if you use "Bernhard", to be honest."

"Oh..." The queen simply said, unsure of what she feels. The prince picked up on this.

"Oh no, I don't mean it like that! It's just that, it sounds more like, you know, "you". There aren't many people who call me "Bernhard"."

"Ow? Who else, besides me?"

"Well there's my father and my mother, they used to, at least, when they were alive. Also, Stef.

"Stef?"

"King Stefan, the Lion of the Southern Isles. The one who sent us here. My second eldest brother."

"How come your eldest brother wasn't the king there?"

"He was...King Filip, the Stallion..."

"Not anymore?"

"There was...an accident. He's in a better place now."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Thank you. You don't have to be anymore, though. It was a really long time ago. Fil's death is just not something I'm used to talking about with people."

Elsa looked at him while he looked at the moon.

He turned to her, returning her gaze and smiled.

"Do you often gaze at the night sky?"

"It's usually the thing I do at nights when I can't sleep, which is almost every single night."

"You don't sleep?"

"Most nights, yes, I don't. I rarely find myself needing much of it anyway, besides, staying awake the whole night is worth it when the sky is awake with you."

The queen nodded her agreement to Bernhard.

"We used to play until the wee hours of the morning on nights like this one. I'd use my powers to turn the ballroom into a winter wonderland through magic. We'd slide on slopes and give each other "tickle-bumps, we'd make snowmen and skate with them on ice, I'd make hills of snow while Anna jumped on them, them getting higher and higher while she got faster and faster.

"I'm sure you two looked adorable playing, as little girls."

They laughed then Elsa suddenly had a sad look on her face and swallowed hard.

"Hey what's the matter? Something wrong? Elsa?"

Her lip quivered and she sobbed once before getting herself under control.

"We did it until that fateful night. The one when I almost killed Anna with my powers for the first time. It was an accident. I didn't mean to hit her, I slipped and, though I didn't mean to, instinctively aimed my hand at her head...It was a direct hit."

"They took her to the trolls and their leader erased all the memories she had of my powers to keep her safe. I shut her out for more than thirteen years. It eventually led to the incident here, last summer, as you know. I almost got my sister killed...again, that time, by putting ice in her heart."

Bernhard, by now, could hear her breathing heavily, tears threatening to pour out of her eyes. He wanted to ease her pain but something in him told him to hold back. He knew better than to get too close to the queen but, in the end, his compassion won. He put his gloved palm against her back while whispering reassuringly.

"Shhh. Hey, it's okay. Your kingdom's more than fine. Anna's still alive, full of life, in fact, also, despite everything that may have happened between you two in the past, I believe that she loves you more than anything, based on the short time we talked on the way to our rooms after dinner. You're all she ever talks about...well, mostly besides Kristoff, and snowmen and chocolates."

She was smiling now, though there were still thin, wet trails on her cheeks. He lent her his red kerchief to wipe her face with.

He sighed. "Still, you were lucky enough, you know. No blood was spilled, no life was lost. I wasn't as fortunate like you were back then."

"What do you mean? Are you implying that-"

"Queen Elsa, sorry to interrupt, but some of the guests have been looking for you." Kai called her.

They lost track of the time, not realizing that it had been over an hour since they had left the ballroom.

The prince smiled and nodded at the majordomo the turned back to the queen.

"Perhaps another time. Shall I escort you inside?" Bernhard, again, offered his arm to Elsa.

"Please do." She took it, anxious at the guests waiting for her.

Following Kai, they made their way to the entrance.

**-End of Chapter 5-**

* * *

**Notes on Chapter 5**

So there's a few new characters here, minor ones. Not sure if I'm going to use them in future chapters. You (maybe even I) probably aren't going to remember all of them anyway but we'll see how it goes from here.

The Spanish title "_vizconde_" means "viscount" in English. It's a noble rank in between _"conde" and "bar__ón"_, meaning "count" and "baron", respectively.

We all know that Elsa's gonna have to get married eventually and just to let you know, her royal advisers, preferred it to be sooner rather than later and any man from the Southern Isles is out of the question in their books. Yeah, right. As if they could do anything to stop it.

Just a little did-you-know trivia: Bernhard is a Danish name in real life, that means "brave bear", from "_bern_" meaning bear and "_hard_" meaning brave (I bet Merida and he would get along just fine). It's actually pronounced "BERN-hahrt", the way his parents intended his name to sound like. He preferred Elsa's way of saying it though, "burn-haard", as in "burn hard". (See what I did there? Burn hard? Haha! Okay! Moving-on.)

Now, you get to see some other sides of Bern, besides his "prince charming" one. He may not have been raised in a castle for most of his life, he may have grown up as some sort of an exile from adolescence to adulthood, but he could easily pull off acting all arrogant-like just as easily as Hans could actually mean it. He also gets to show his sensitive side here, though he initially thought that it was quite a bit too personal, as he merely wanted to be a perfect gentleman but ended up almost revealing part of his dark, tragic past.


	6. A Night of Drinking and The Morning Afte

I can think of reasons why they're not, but I'm just not so sure, exactly why people aren't reviewing hehe. Maybe they should give me a review of why they aren't reviewing. Am just kidding. Anyway, it's fine. Besides, you and a couple did give a review so thanks, **RJCA27**! I have a few things in store for the gang, some are going to involve some other OCs. Princes from the Isles, anyone? Perhaps even Bern and Sig's crew and then some. But of course, I'm going to have to focus more on the progress of Elsa's ice powers (geez, they haven't even started training yet) and her budding relationship with the fire prince, for now. We'll get to that REEEEAL SOOOOON, I promise.

By the way, I hope you don't mind it too much if I get into too much detail (every color of every design on every article of clothing in everyone's outfit for every event at every place, everyday and every night, ugh). Reading "A Song of Fire" series does that to some of us, I'm afraid. Just a little more patience, guys and I swear, we'll move on with the plot eventually. I just feel the need to take it a bit slow before finishing this arc in order to set up the events in the future (Bernhard and Elsa need to be developed so they'll be attached enough to each other, for example).

P.S. Also, sorry for the very slow updates. I actually submit documents from my phone midweek and then edit them on my computer on weekends. It's not that I'm lazy when it comes to writing, mind you. It's just easier for me to think while lying down and holding a small device 'til I fall asleep and it falls on my face. Easier...not less painful, though. It hurts, I assure you. And updating before the next week comes gives me time to focus on my studies during the weekdays (Accountancy, no wonder I'm not the most talented in writing fiction). Just a little more and we'll be finished with the "Autumn Festival" arc.

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

* * *

**Chapter 6: **

**A Night of Drinking and The Morning After**

* * *

They entered the ballroom but were not yet seen by anyone. The inside was filled with drunk and noisy guests.

Slowly and steadily, Bernhard took Elsa's right gloved hand in his left and with his thumb, pulled the glove slightly, just enough to reveal half of her hand's skin, then kissed it gently, unlike the duke.

"It's been a pleasure, talking with you, as usual, but I do know that I have to give you up to other people sometime." He winked while having a lopsided grin plastered to his face."

The queen's breath was hitched in her throat because of his words and his deeds.

She was trying to think of an excuse for being absent but there was none needed as the prince took care of any and all of the explaining needed.

The prince got the crowd's attention. "My lords and ladies, please forgive me for taking up far too much of Her Majesty's time. I was hoping to compensate for my younger brother's shortcomings and restore the trust Queen Elsa had given our family and our kingdom. I am afraid that in my endeavor to do so, I had been selfish and kept her away from you for a longer period of time than expected. I sincerely apologize to you."

Bernhard's charisma worked in his favor, yet again. He smiled at the people and bowed then faced the queen.

"I'll be here somewhere, if you need me." he whispered.

Bernhard walked away and disappeared into the sea of people.

To say that Elsa was relieved is a understatement. She thought that the nobles were going to complain or insult, instead they thanked and complimented her. The people gradually dispersed after some time until Elsa was left alone once more.

The queen scanned the crowd again. She saw that Bernhard was with three girls whom she recognized as some of Anna's acquaintances. One was laughing and slapping the smiling prince's shoulder, obviously flirting with him. The other two were giggling loudly.

Bernhard turned to her direction, for a moment, and then said something brief to the three girls before striding towards Elsa, the girls staring at his form all the way.

"Hello again. How'd it go?"

"It was better than expected. And you? You seem to be having a great time."

"Good enough I guess, though the men, some of my father's "so-called" friends included, were giving me looks. They've always looked that way at Sig, even when he was just a boy. Now they look at me the same way and probably would at all of my brothers too, especially Stef."

"The women too seemed to be giving you looks...of a different kind though, I mean."

He was about to say something when he heard another voice, a familiar one.

"Your Majesty."

A girl, the one who appeared flirting with him minutes ago, curtsied gracefully.

"I believe we haven't met before, Queen Elsa?"

"No. I don't think so..."

The girl smiled at her.

"I'm Maria, the duchess of Weselton, the former duke of Weselton's daughter, I came here on behalf of my father. We are humbled and grateful for receiving an invitation, whether despite or because, of what had happened between my father and your family. I was supposed to go with him to your coronation but unfortunately, I was ill and can't even get up from my bed. With all the problems of our economy back home and my dreadful illness, I'm afraid that my father was too desperate for resources. I humbly beg your pardon for his misdeeds, Your Majesty."

"I understand. We tend to lose our rationality when under such crises. It is hard to take pressure off your mind during those times. It gets into your head and affects your way of thinking."

"You are very wise, Queen Elsa."

She glanced at Bernhard for a second.

"My friend here has told me of your generosity in second chances and I find that he did not embellish that particular detail at all, Your Majesty."

"Told you so, Mia. "

She rolled her eyes and talked to Elsa again. "Please, excuse me. Oh and may I borrow him for a bit, Queen Elsa?"

The queen did not have time to answer, when the girl grabbed the prince's arm and pulled him a little to the side.

"You're not setting the room on fire with your moves. Left your skills back at your ship?"

He brushed his hair with his fingers, smoothly. "Very funny. Not tonight, I'm afraid."

"Awww! Why not?" She pouted.

"Not exactly in the mood."

"But I thought you're always in the mood." She sighed.

"Apparently not."

"Seems so. If you change your mind though, you know where to find me, Bernie." She winked at him and touched his chin then strutted away, purposely swaying her curvy hips.

Bernhard, shaking his head, once again went closer to Elsa.

"Well...That wasn't very nice. That was rude. Sorry about that."

"It's fine. I think she wanted to dance with you...so badly that she wasn't exactly being subtle. Why didn't you come with her?"

"I didn't want to and I'm not one to be forced." He gave his signature smirk.

"And yet, you said you wanted to dance, earlier this evening." She produced a matching smirk on her face, in addition to a raised eyebrow.

"Hmmm, I may have mentioned that I want to dance with YOU..." He raised an eyebrow as well this time.

"Oh." Her expression changed into one of sudden realization when she learned that he wanted to dance specifically with her.

The prince nodded.

"I'm sorry. I'm not much fun at balls."

"Don't worry about it, Elsa. Do you...drink?"

"Sometimes. Yes."

"Let me get you some wine then."

He was about to turn his back when he stopped and chuckled.

"Wait. Just out of curiosity...does Anna drink?"

"No. Why?" The queen's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Merely a question. Mia's one persuasive lass. Wouldn't be surprised if she convinced her to try drinking, but don't worry. I don't think Kristoff wouldn't allow a drunk Anna. I'll check on your sister too while I'm there."

As he predicted, the princess and her circle of new-found friends were seated at a table near the buffet. Some of the girls were now rowdy others were unconscious, not a very common occurrence but everyone else seemed to be too tipsy at this point to notice or care. Girls greeted him as he passed by.

"I knew you'd soon come to your senses!" Maria stood up and stabbed a finger at the prince's chest.

"What are talking about, Lady?"He laughed in a good way, while putting down her extended limb, then she punched him in the arm jokingly.

"Hey, Bern!" The princess piped up from her seat. Her previously fair skin was now a shade somewhere between pink and red.

"Anna, how much?"

"How much?"

"You know, have you drank already? He continued while fetching a bottle and two goblets.

"I'm not sure...Oh! Shhh! Don't tell Elsa!" She shouted.

He chuckled at that. "Trust me. I don't need too. Where's Kristoff, anyway?"

Anna pointed to the mountain man sitting with other men. Sigmund introduced him to them and though a commoner, they now treated him as a man of equal stature due to their discovery of his relationship with Anna and now his newly formed friendship with Sigmund. They were equally as loud as the girls, laughing, cursing, singing and doing pretty much whatever it is that drunk men do.

"I'm sleepy. I think I'll go to bed now." She tried to stand up but failed. Sitting back down, she fell asleep on the table, a few other girls in the same condition as her.

Bernhard shook his head while laughing. "I'll tell your sister you said "good night"."

The princess momentarily lifted her forehead, sticking out her tongue at him. He laughed again before returning to the queen, carrying their drink.

"So?"

"Drunk. Too drunk to drink. She's resting now."

"Her room?"

"On a table."

Elsa covered her face with a palm, rubbing it. This made Bernhard smile and he lead her to an empty table.

The others paid them no mind or simply did not spot them. By now, there were only a few guests left, none of which is completely and utterly sober.

The prince poured the wine on their goblets and raised one then proceeded to make a small toast, just for the two of them to hear.

"To Her Majesty, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, long may she reign, to the successful ball tonight which she hosted, to the succeeding celebrations of the autumn festival and to controlling our powers."

They clinked their goblets then drank their wine.

They talkedd and drank until the ball was over. It was both the first time that the queen drank and talked that much.

Hours passed until it was way past midnight. Kai was helping Kristoff to his room, feeling the heavy weight of his leaning form. Gerda was doing the same to Anna but was having a harder time due to her stubborn protesting that she can do it herself. Bernhard was escorting Elsa, who unexpectedly, gave no clue that she drank wine except for her skin. Her cheeks and ears now flushed with a deep crimson color.

They walked slowly, side-by-side, silent but satisfied.

They only broke the quietness when they reached the queen's quarters.

"So I guess...Good night." The prince was the first to talk, he did so coyly.

He knew fully well that he was not supposed to come with her this far from the ballroom and this near to her bedroom, lest the other nobles gossip about it, but made no move to indicate otherwise. He certainly would not do it if the queen objected to and if there were more guests around...or would he?

The prince, once more, held her hand and kissed it, only this time, he completely removed the glove and his lips lingered on the back of her hand for a little bit longer than the last one.

The queen, demure as a lamb, bade him good night. "Sleep well or, at least, try to." She was starting to enter when she stopped, turned back and then hugged him briefly.

The contact was short but the sensation stayed with the both of them.

Elsa coughed. "Thank you...for tonight...Does this mean that we're friends, Bernhard?"

He was wide-eyed, while she had her eyes closed, as if anticipating a killing blow.

He put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it slightly.

"Well, I certainly hope so."

She gasped and then gave a sigh of relief.

"Wow. I've never had any friends. Except Sven, Kristoff and Olaf...Anna doesn't count, because she's my sister."

"Sven? Olaf?"

"Sven's Kristoff's reindeer and Olaf...well, I'll just introduce him to you some other time. I've got to get in right now. You should get some rest too, Bernhard.

"Sweet Dreams, my queen."

The prince waited for the queen's footsteps to move away from her door, which took some time because she sat against its bottom half, smiling to herself. He eventually departed to his own room, happily humming.

Since Elsa's friends were mutually Anna's, her fast relationship development with Bernhard had nothing to compare with. The queen had never let anyone that close to her, let alone that quick. She could not help but think that this was meant to be. She now believed that they were destined to bond because of both their powers and their dark pasts. They were fated to be in each other's lives, she thought.

The prince, even if he appeared to be gifted with the pinnacle of social skills, was not one who truly trusted, and in such a short span of time too, yet he was instantly comfortable with the queen, seemingly not possessing even a little amount of suspicion. Of course, he too had a bit of doubt, at first, but eventually, he opened up to her, albeit for just a glimpse of his troubled past, but still...

* * *

Saying last night made him pleased is a bit of an understatement for Bernhard. Besides the ball and his budding friendship with the queen, the prince fell asleep the moment he settled in his bed, literally the best shut-eye he has ever had in years. He was a little late for their morning stretch, that day though, too content in lying in bed to be bothered to get up early, it seemed. Sigmund thought that he was with somebody from the ball, most likely the queen, in his room so he did not bother to rouse him from bed and opted to give him the "rest and breasts" that he more than deserves.

They were now at the castle orchard, being watched by two guards who were there not to guard, but to be entertained by a battle.

"It appears you've enjoyed last night far too much, Little Brother.

"Why didn't you wake me up? There's going to be people here soon!"

"Since when did you care about people seeing you getting beat up by me? Oh and one more thing, aren't you happy that I didn't disturb you and your little "Snowflake"?"

"My little what? What are you going on about this time?"

"Ha and you can be her little "Fireball". It suits you, 'ya?"

He was speechless, just staring at his brother with his mouth agape and then just like that, his expression slowly turned serious.

"Don't. Hold. Back."

He spoke dangerously low, a warning of sorts of what was to come.

The bald man nodded and prepared for a fight.

Sigmund was not wearing a top and only had a pair of grey pants on. Bernhard, though normally shirtless too, chose to don a simple shirt today, concerned that others, meaning the kingdom's ruler herself, might think him slightly indecent.

They circled each other, like predators thinking of the other man as prey, neither one taking his eyes off of the other.

They both held weapons at first. While Sigmund used more force with his longsword when he attacked, Bernhard struck faster with his sabre. It was a battle of strength against skill, with Sigmund blocking and Bernhard dodging. Sigmund lunged at his brother but his strike was parried by the dagger on the prince's off-hand and the bald man was rewarded with a pommel to the head, stunning him. Bernhard disarmed him, hitting him in the arm with the flat of his blade and then kicked the dropped weapon to the side.

The prince discarded both of his weapons, throwing then next to his brother's. They landed with a simultaneous clang. They carried on, hand-to-hand combat, this time.

* * *

Elsa too, was already awake, preparing for her daily morning stroll. When she heard the sounds of metal against metal, she froze. Figuratively.

She went out her balcony and peeked. It was still a bit dark out but and she can barely make out the silhouette of four figures, two of them in a clash of steel.

The queen went downstairs to investigate what the commotion was all about.

When she got there, she saw the men locked in combat. Bernhard, who was flung, was flying towards the land in front of her but the prince, using his instinct, planted his hand firmly onto the soil before the rest of his body landed and then used the leverage to tumble away.

She watched the dance-like duel happening before her, mesmerized by the flurry of feints and strikes.

Sigmund once again tried to charge with a punch but his fist was caught and his own force enabled his brother to throw him to the ground. He stood up again but was back at his rump in an instant because his legs were swept underneath him.

He attempted to get up once more, to no avail. Bernhard thrust his boot to Sigmund's chest causing him to lie in the ground, defeated.

"Submit. You have already lost!"

Their bouts, most of the time, had an even outcome. Sometimes Bernhard won, other times, Sigmund did. These results were rare though.

"Fine! I yield." Sigmund surrendered.

Bernhard let him get up and then turned to Elsa.

"Elsa, good morning."

"Good morning, Bernhard."

"I'll just leave you two alone. Good day, Your Majesty." Sigmund excused himself, raising both eyebrows suggestively at his brother. He went behind the prince then, using his shoulder, deliberately pushed him a little towards the queen before picking up their equipment and joining the other men.

"I hope we didn't disturb your sleep."

"Oh no, not at all. I was already up when I heard your weapons. You two were practicing, I see."

"Yeah. Can't always rely on magic powers, you know. Too dangerous. Martial training, on the other hand, could always come in handy."

"You're very good. I've never really seen anyone fight like that. You move so gracefully."

"I've learned over the years. There are people from other places who can often teach a thing or two about fighting."

"Perhaps you could teach me a thing or two about fighting."

The prince beamed at her. Girls who know how to fight were not exactly a new sight for him.

"Perhaps. First thing's first though. You need to be good at controlling your powers. So, when do we start?"

"As soon as possible. Right now."

"Eager are we? That's good, but we need a wide open space so we wouldn't destroy anything...or anyone."

"Oh I know! We could go to the North Mountain! We need to be back here pretty soon though. There's going to be performances in the town square tonight."

"This won't take too long. It is our first day, after all. We have to be completely comfortable with each other's gifts first. Don't expect it to be that quick and easy, considering they're opposite in nature."

"We need to begin then, if we're going to make much progress today."

"Yes. I'll just change then we can go fetch two horses and be on our way.

Elsa just stood there, frozen in place. Bernhard was puzzled.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. It's just that...I've never ridden a horse before."

"Well then, ride with me."

The queen was hesitant. The prince, realizing what and to whom he just offered it, thought of other ideas to suggest.

"Or you could ride with one of your guards. Or maybe we could bring a carriage? Or..."

"It's fine. We could ride on the same horse, that is, if it's okay with you."

"Why, whyever wouldn't it be okay with me, I ask." He winked.

The queen went ahead to the stables to hide the resulting blush. "We should get going. Let's go. Now."

"After you, Queen Elsa."

He was teasing her, testing how far he can go before she draws the line. They passed by the guardsmen, one giving him an identical shirt that he changed into while the monarch's back was turned after handing over his used one and nodding in thanks.

"We should probably add riding horses to the list of things I could teach you."

"I'll make my sister teach it to me. Wouldn't want to make His Highness too busy."

"Nonsense. Also, If I were to stay here for a while, even if just as an ambassador of some sort, I will need to earn my keep, so to say, and I don't think my tutelage on your ability is enough for that, do you?"

"So magic powers, martial training and riding horses...that's more than enough, I think...but if you say so, then so be it, Prince Bernhard." She smiled at him.

"Sure. Of course." He replied with a small, sly smile.

They went silent for a few seconds on the way, letting the moment of tranquility sink in.

"So...Anna, parties and ponies, and then there's you, reading and ruling."

"Boring. I know."

"Not really. But wait, what about dancing? You said you don't dance. I bet you'd make an amazing dancer!"

"I...probably not. Nope, don't think so. Now, just what makes you think that, anyway?"

They have arrived at the stables. It was at this point when Elsa noticed that his shirt was now dry, unlike the last one which showed the muscles on his chest and abdomen. Bernhard made himself busy, choosing a horse while the queen was taking in the form of his muscular back. The prince soon brought out a young mare.

"I can tell it by the way you move. What a picture of sophisticated grace, you are!"

She giggled girlishly at that. "Just...no...no thanks. You know a lot of things. Are you really THAT competent?"

"Fine. Be that way. They say I'm a very great dancer and an even better partner, just so you know." He put his hand on his hips, puffed up his chest and raised his chin, looking down.

He made Elsa climb on first. She did so after rolling her eyes.

"Now wait just a second. Aren't I supposed to ride at the back?"

"You might fall off if you accidentally let go. This would be safer for your first time."

It was his turn to climb on, he did so with utmost dexterity. "Here, hold the reins like this and keep your feet in the stirrups like that and you'll have nothing to worry about...but then again, this is the morning after a night of drinking so..."

Before Elsa could react, the prince, grinning, made the animal start trotting at a slow but steady pace.

"See, there you go. Just focus on the road. Do this to turn left and that, to turn right and just pull as hard as you can to make her stop."

"Sounds easy enough."

"Great! You should have no trouble going faster then."

"Wait, what?"

Bernhard smacked the mare's hip. It briefly stood on its hind legs, neighing, before galloping away.

The queen was panicking a little and Bernhard can sense it due to the sudden, cool, rapid, heavy breezes surrounding them. "Make her stop!" He shouted rather forcefully.

He had tried his best not to make her feel the least bit smothered but desperate times call for desperate measures. The prince wrapped his arms around the stiff Elsa and held both of her hands, feeling her tight grip on the leather and then whispered directly to her ear, making her skin of her neck tingle from his warm breath. "Pull as hard as you can. Steady..."

She did as she was told. The mare slowed down to a halt.

"There she goes. That's a good girl. Sorry about that. Couldn't resist."

The queen was breathing heavily. "You're panting but she was the one who ran with two persons riding on her back!" The prince chuckled good-naturedly.

The queen turned back and then glared at him but could not resist the urge to burst out laughing. The rush made her feel like a little girl again. "Well, that was fun but certainly dangerous. Please don't do that again without warning me first. I sort of liked it fast but I want to be informed beforehand next time."

"Then steel yourself and let's go again. Just like when you use your powers, in horseback riding, you should never, ever let yourself get startled. Never not be prepared but on the off chance that you did get shocked at first, you've got to always get yourself under control as soon as possible. Be calm in the middle of a storm, I always say."

"Okay, I cleared my head now. Are you ready?"

"Wait. You mind letting me hold on? Wouldn't want to get thrown off to the ground so you can get back at me now that you have an idea of what you're doing."

The queen thought he was referring to holding the leather reins. "Of course. I'm ready when you are, Bernhard."

He closed the tiniest bit of gap between them and held on to her mid section. She was surprised, albeit pleasantly, and tried to calm herself. She appreciated the warm contact as he did her cool skin.

"Ready."

The queen nodded. This was when the prince noticed her spreading blush.

Teasing her even further, he made his grip firmer yet still gentle. "What? Are you blushing? Not too hot now, am I, Your Majesty?"

"No! It's fine! I'm fine!"

Though her reactions are encouraging him, the prince let her off the hook for now. He decided that it would not be safe for the two of them if there are other things on her mind.

"Use your heel and kick her side." She did as she was told and then the mare started moving.

"Do it again, harder this time." The horse picked up her space and soon they were speeding off, though not as fast as before when the prince made their steed rush.

Elsa had a smile on her face and so did Bernhard, so proud that the queen learned quite easily.

It did not take too long before they were at the foot of the North Mountain.

"There's always snow at this part of Arendelle. Never melting."

"It's lovely here." remarked the prince.

"Let's find an open field. One without any trees." The queen examined the tree line.

They got down from the horse and then started walking. Bernhard held on to the mare's reins while she followed them, with Elsa stroking her long mane.

"Lead away."

They were in casual clothes, so it was not of too much consequence for them, being in contact with snow.

The prince, having just finished his training about an hour ago, was wearing the clean, thin, white short-sleeved, v-necked shirt the guardsman handed to him to change into. He also had on, blue pants and brown, sturdy, work boots, his usual training clothes. Half of both his forearms were wrapped up in red cloth, starting from his wrists and ending halfway to his elbows. His bangs were raised, a kerchief tied around his forehead to keep hair and sweat off of his brows and eyes when he trained.

The queen on the other hand, wore a light blue and black, four-buttoned shirt with purple lines underneath a royal blue dress jacket with gold and black accents that had a dark purple gemstone as a collar button. A black headband kept her braided hair in place. She was without gloves this time.

They crossed a frozen lake and then arrived at a large clearing surrounded by tall snow-covered trees with hanging, frozen dew drop filled leaves that produced sounds when touched.

"Alright. This place will do."

The prince tied their steed to a tree and it immediately rested its head on the trunk.

"So, what do we do now?" The queen merely received a mysterious smile in response to her child-like enthusiasm.

**-End Of Chapter 6-**

* * *

**Notes on Chapter 6**

This chapter's significantly longer than those before. My longest chapter yet, to hopefully make up somewhat for the turtle-ish (is that even a word?) development of the story. It was actually two short chapters, "A Night of Drinking" and "The Morning After", merged into one. I'll try to get this arc over...and fast (without feeling that it lacks something, of course).

Maria, a.k.a Mia to Bern, is going to be a not-so-minor OC for sure. You could probably guess by now what her upcoming role would be in the story. "Weaseltown's Hottest Kit" has arrived. (See what I did there? Get it? 'cause her father's the former duke of Weselton, a.k.a. Weaseltown, and she's his young daughter, the new duchess) Alright. I'm gonna stop trying to make weasel jokes now...and yes, "kit" is that animal's "baby form".

Look at Anna...all grown-up and drinking wine without her elder sister's permission. First it was the "boy-crazy" phase and now this? Ah teenagers! Pretty soon she'll be engaged and then married and then preg-...I'm getting carried away now, aren't I?

Elsa, on the other hand, is going to experience some very deep, important emotions that she did not experience when she was a teenage years, nor in her childhood years, for that matter. Come to think of it, she has it worse than her younger sister. At least the princess got to actually play and feel like a child her age, in contrast to the queen who only did "grown-up things"...what I meant was "intellectual pursuits" like reading and learning and stuff, while locking herself up inside her own room. Oh, and don't even get me started on the emotional roller coaster having a crush on someone for the first time. All of these feelings she will encounter in due time. See, now she knows what it's like to have a friend other than those who are your friends by default.

Hope the action scene in this chapter wasn't tacky. I haven't played fighting games like Tekken for a long time. I'm more of a League of Legends kind of guy now, which is probably why there aren't many moves I could describe with more "POW" in them, without making it look less realistic.


	7. The First Day of Training

Hahaha "begging" is the exact word for it! Thanks, **Jaifigh**! Reviews keep pushing me forward. Yup, I want my characters have their own stories. It draws people to them, in a way. What I fear is that I give too much "screen time" to them and not enough to the canon characters of Frozen, well, except for the ice queen, of course. It wouldn't be a problem if readers, who I'm very sure watched the movie, had the same "emotional bond" with the OCs as they have with the characters in the film. I mean, sure you can imagine them (that's why I try to describe them in detail haha) but it's not the same as a fictional character who you actually saw and heard from a screen. I know reading and getting to use one's imagination has it's charms, but still... Maybe I'll get someone to draw a picture of the fire prince or something. Who knows, right?

Thanks, **RJCA27**! Disney didn't really focus on Elsa's love life, or lack thereof, she could be a closeted lesbian, for all we know, (just sayin'), but from her personality, one could guess that she isn't exactly the "marry the man you just met type". We all know how she is so reserved and regal, but Bern seems to be just the right guy to thaw those frozen walls (and doors) she built up overtime and though it isn't that apparent now, she in turn, would help him deal with his own personal issues in the future. That's why this arc is long. He needs to get some, if not most, of her repressed feelings out, help her to get in touch, not only with her powers, but also with her emotions...and yes, Mia will play her part, in due time...

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

* * *

**Chapter 8: **

**T****he First Day of Training**

* * *

There was no wind that day, in that part of Arendelle. Overall, the environment was still and noiseless. The two royals stood face to face.

"I need to know what you're capable of first. Show me what you've got." He instructed the queen and she prepared herself.

"Ready?"

"Born ready!" He nodded anticipation.

Elsa lifted her left foot and then stomped it down, creating a snowflake symbol beneath her heel. She shot at the sky and pretty soon, it was snowing all around them. She made the snow that fell rise and then shaped them into figures. The ground underneath them became as frozen solid as the nearby lake they passed by on the way there.

"Marvelous!" he whispered.

Bernhard let the queen enjoy herself and in the process of observing her, he too felt enjoyment, captivated by her look of childlike bliss. Alas, after some time, he made her stop what she was doing.

"You're good, very good, in fact. Now I just need to ask you..."

He paused for dramatic effect.

"Ask me what?"

He let go of a deep breath.

"Do you trust me?" The prince asked Elsa in all seriousness.

"What?"

"I need you to answer me."

Elsa frowned. "Yes. I do. Why do you ask?"

"That's good because now, I want you to hit me as hard as you can, as quick as you can."

"So soon? Are you sure? I thought you said-"

"Just trust me on this."

"Alright..." Elsa inhaled, exhaled then clenched a fist.

She tried to punch Bernhard but he caught her wrist just before she hit his face.

He laughed a little while shaking his head.

"We had a bit of a misunderstanding there.

"I'm confused. You said you wanted to see the magic and now you want me to hit you. Should I learn how to fight physically, just like riding horses, before mastering my powers?"

The realization dawned on him and made him loosen his hold of her.

"I meant hit me with your powers."

It was then when she forcefully released her wrist from his grip.

"I'm not going to do that!"

"But you said you trusted me. Just now. About a couple of minutes ago."

"I did! Back when I didn't know you were THIS crazy! I trusted you to make sound decisions too, you know."

"Elsa, please. If it makes you feel better about it, I'm on fire inside...literally. I'm sure you've already noticed by now how unnaturally warm I am even in this weather. Although too much cold could make me quite a bit uncomfortable, I doubt a little ice hitting me would freeze me to death."

"It's dangerous. You don't know what you're asking for. That's what almost killed my little sister, Bernhard!"

"Your sister is not a flame spewing demon! Not a beast that burns! Hit me here!"

He suddenly tugged at her and placed her hand over his face and she reacted out of instinct. Because of her sudden surprise, she accidentally released her power, it working to protect her as a defense mechanism.

The prince was on his knees in an instant, holding his throbbing head in his hands, whimpering like a kicked puppy. Within moments the queen too was kneeling, holding his head close, hugging it to her in order to comfort him. Her hands, one on top of his head and the other on his cheek, touched him affectionately.

"It's okay, Bernhard! I got you! It was an accident!"

He managed to compose himself after awhile, somewhat pleased with the contact and the attention he was receiving from her. "Yes. It's fine. I'm fine."

He held her hand that was on his cheek absent mindedly stroking it with his thumb.

The pain finally subsided and the hurt expression on his face was replaced with a weak smile.

"I meant for you to do that. See, told you I can take it." He dared lift his head and take a peek at her but suddenly tried to duck.

She hit him with a fist and it collided with his nose. He had did not have enough time to react this time around and he fell back. He covered his face with his hands and groaned softly.

The queen was instantly at his side again.

"I got a little carried away, did I...but, in my defense, you did deserve it. Does it hurt?"

"Just a bit, Elsa. It's like that feeling you get when you gulp down a cold drink too fast. You probably haven't felt it before though so I'm not sure you can imagine it. Anyways, it's inconsequential to my health. I mean, look, no white hair or anything out of the ordinary."

"I was talking about your nose. Anyway, you can't keep risking it like that. It's too...risky..."

"Risks are the things I live for, Sweetheart, but you're right about not doing it again...for now." His way of flirting with girls were subtle and sneaky, unlike Sigmund's confrontational style. He meant to call her that, despite not being sure how she would take it, and added a few more things to say in his sentence to make it seem that he did not think much of it.

Elsa, on the other hand, was paying attention to him and did not let the nickname go over her head. She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before Bernhard cleared his throat like nothing happened.

"Anyway, moving on. You know what I saw our there? You were too fearful. There's nothing wrong with a bit of fear. That makes one careful. Better that than being a stupid oaf who charges without regards to himself nor to others. I learned that the hard way. The very hard way. Really hard...

Bernhard had on a small smile while he shook his head.

"Still, fear is your enemy and you can't let it beat you. You need to overcome it, else, it will overwhelm you. Magic is there to help you, never to rule over you. Your powers, though a large part of yourself, are just that, merely a part who you are. You are supposed to control them and not the other way around. That's why we're going to train."

Thinking clearly again, she nodded once. "I understand. What am I supposed to do first?"

"First, you need to keep your emotions, particularly fear, in check. I want you to hit me again but this time, I'll try to get out of the way. Does that work for you?"

"And what if I do hit you again?"

The prince chuckled darkly.

"We'll worry about that when it happens, that is...if it happens."

He winked at the queen and the lept some feet away from her.

"Ready when you are, Elsa!" he declared.

"Here it goes..." Her hands began conjuring cold air.

The queen summoned her powers and aimed at the prince then shot but dispersed them at the last second before they hit him.

"What was that? Don't hold back! Try again."

She did it again, with the intent to hit him this time, Bernhard dodged it but stood stock still when Elsa tried hitting him for a third time. The queen dispersed her powers once more, seeing them almost hit him.

"You can't keep doing that. Hit me already!"

"I almost did-"

"And yet you stopped! Just one hit and then we'll do this differently. Promise." he interrupted.

She did not hold back anymore. The problem is that, every time she almost hit the prince, he would evade the powers effortlessly.

"Are you still making it easy for me or just making it hard for yourself?"

He taunted her, hoping she would do the best she can.

They did that for awhile and it came to a point where Bernhard started advancing towards Elsa.

"Thought I'd make it easier for you, as easy as it is for me."

They both moved faster and faster until the prince sprinted rapidly to arrive directly in front of her.

At the last second the queen dropped her hands, just barely an inch from hitting him.

"You stopped."

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll try again."

"Your reaction time is impeccable. That's truly a good sign. I made you do this to know how much and how well you can control your powers. I taunted you, asking you not to hold back, thinking that you would lose focus and concentrate solely on hitting me and forget about control. Still, despite the really short distance, you had time to cease your powers. That's what this is actually about."

Elsa had a look of realization on her face.

"To be perfectly honest, you're better than I was when I first tried it, as a young lad of fourteen..."

"What, fourteen!? You're serious! Who was your target then?"

"Pieces of dry fire wood that Sig threw at me. I was supposed to burn the ones with bark and ignore the "bare naked" ones. The last one, always bigger than all the rest, I was supposed to dodge instead of attack."

"Hotheaded as I am, I would always destroy it. Well, there was this one time that I just stood there, letting it hit me instead of me getting out of the way."

"It probably hit your head hard considering how crazy you are!" The queen snickered.

"Hey!" Bernhard feigned being insulted, showing mock offense.

The laughed and moved on tho the second part of the training.

"This time you need to think and act faster. I want you to REALLY HIT me now, even if I stood next to you...Oh wait, make that ESPECIALLY if I stood next to you."

"But you said we were going to do something differently. Can't I just freeze some firewood or something?"

"It IS different and much more effective this way. Also, I'm not going to throw sawed off pieces of lumber at you. Wouldn't want to blemish your perfect, pretty face now, would we? Just hit me. Trust me when I say it's for your own good."

"But is it really?"

"It IS for your own good. Trust me."

"Really? Fine. It's whatever you say from now on."

"Good to know."

Elsa, now used to intentionally trying to hit a moving target, was now shooting with much more speed and accuracy.

Bernhard mostly rolled or jumped out of the way. At some point, he somehow picked up a snowball and pelt the queen with it.

"Hey!"

"What? Oh wait, did I mention that hitting me is for your own good? Oh I did! Didn't I?"

"Why you-"

Another snow ball came into contact with her once more.

"I'm waiting, Your Majesty." His signature smirk made its appearance on the prince's face.

Elsa was seriously trying the best she could to land her powers but Bernhard was just too fast even when he took time to gather, roll the throw balls of snow.

The prince kept provoking her but it did not exactly work the way he thought it would. Unlike what he would probably do if he were in her shoes, especially some ten years ago, the queen became more focused as he provoked her.

Once Elsa, memorized the seemingly random pattern that he moved with, she devised a plan.

She raised a hand towards him, effectively faking a shot but once he tried to evade, she made a slope on the area he planned to land on, thus momentarily making him lose his balance.

He tried to recover, positioning in the air. The problem is, in mid-air, he is a little bit invulnerable.

A second passed slowly between them. A shot was on it's way to the prince's chest. Flames got out of his hands and feet and desperately to push him away from the projectile, making him flip. He landed a few feet, writhing on the ground.

"Bernhard! Oh no! Did I hit your heart!"

The prince was facing the ground and his knees were tucked to his chest.

He made cries of agony, barely audible to the queen then rolled away and faced the boughs of trees above them, his gaze landing on a snow owl while a hand covered his crotch. The bird hooted repeatedly, looking like it was making fun of him.

"Not funny..." He grabbed some snow from his side using his free hand and then threw it, hitting the animal before it flew away. Snow, some of which he just threw but mostly from the branch of where the bird was perched, landed back on him.

His face was visibly tear-stained and he was breathing rather heavily.

"Oh my...Did I..." She dared not finish her sentence.

He looked at her with a mixture of pain and pride.

"Yes. Yes, you did."

Elsa wanted to laughed but felt bad and upon realizing it, cringed at what she did.

He stood up, jumped around then finally stopped.

"You did great. The lesson there now is: Do not hit someone with your powers, unless you have no other choice." Elsa nodded in understanding, still cannot get over tha fact that he hurt the prince in his manhood.

"I was attacking you, relentlessly at that, and you did what you had to do. Same principle when you are confronted with a situation alike that one. If using your powers is the best course of action, then do it without hesitation, without second thoughts. It could be the difference between helping and harming." He explained.

"I bet you're at least a little bit tired now. We should take a break. Don't abuse it if still not used to it.

She agreed with him.

"Are you alright now?"

"Yeah. Um...I think so? Just no more..." Bernhard shuddered at the thought of feeling what happened again.

The queen did not hold back her laughter now, amused at his expression.

"Hmph! Not so funny if you're the one at the receiving end..." The prince muttered at her.

"Oh come now. I bet it's not that bad, Your Highness. Rugged, manly, Prince Bernhard can take it, I'm sure." She had her hand on his shoulder while joking at his expense.

In less than half a week, Elsa became comfortable with him and quickly lost the touch barrier in a matter of two days. It was the first time she opened up to someone this fast and this much.

"Hey. Come with me. I want to show you something."

They checked to see what their ride was doing first. She rested under a tree, content with digging using her hoof so she can eat a patch of grass under the thick blanket of white powder.

The two royals walked at a leisurely pace, both caught up with their surroundings but occasionally sneaking glances at the other one. Surprisingly, never at the same time.

They finally saw an area with lesser trees. Somewhere they can see the sky clearly.

"We're almost there. Let's go." The queen grabbed his arm and walked faster.

The prince in turn, had an idea and then began to jog.

"Race you!" he declared boldly red then sprinted ahead.

She could not resist the thrill and soon, was running herself, something she rarely does.

Elsa was one of, if not the youngest queen there ever was in her generation but her maturity has never been a problem, considering that she was forced to mature faster than others of the same age because of her powers.

Bernhard was the same. Barely a teen, he had to make some of the most "grown up" and hardest decisions in life at that stage. He too had to grow up fast in a judgmental world so harsh and cruel, where people persecuted his kind.

The two adults however, hardly having a "childhood", could not help but unleash their repressed childishness as they bolted through snow drift after snow drift.

Bernhard slowed down and looked back at Elsa just before they exited the grove then stopped as he caught sight of what's in front of him.

Near the of a mountain was a palace that looked like it was made of ice. The sight was breath-taking for the prince.

Elsa, now standing next to him, took him by the hand and took a step forward.

They simultaneously looked at their joined hands. The queen let go in an instant but smiled at him shyly. The prince returned it in kind and walked along with her.

They crossed a cross between a long bridge and a high stairway.

"Is this for real?"

"Trust me. It really is."

They arrived at the foot of another flight of stairs leading to the entrance.

"How'd you find this?"

"Not find. Make. Made it myself." She glowed with pride at her creation.

"I feel the need to borrow that book you were reading last night right away. The one about castles all over the world and their designs and functions."

Bernhard was astounded by the queen's eye for design. He inspected even the most minuscule details, like the railing of the staircase.

They were at the last step of the stairwell when the double doors opened to let them in, making them come into contact with the chilly draft.

**-End of Chapter 7-**

* * *

**Notes on Chapter 7**

Elsa already cares for Bern unconsciously, perhaps just as a friend now, but possibly more than that in the near future. Ironically, she was more concerned about hitting his head than she was of hitting his...head (and other parts of it). I don't know how much it hurts getting hit in the groin with supernatural ice powers...and neither do I want to find out.

This part shows a tiny bit of Bern's hotheaded side. (You haven't seen what it's really like...yet) He might appear to be all fun and games sometimes, but for him, training to use powers is serious business. Also, he threw snow at an owl for no good reason. I mean, what the heck was that about. He's improved a lot, compared to his younger self but couldn't help losing his temper, every now and then. Old habits die hard.

This chapter is admittedly much shorter than the previous ones but I'll try to make it up to you guys in the next. I swear. Writer's block sucks.


	8. The Sun and The Moon

Grazie, **NancyOtaku**! Sì, ho letto alcune storie, e non solo quelli di surgelati, e alcuni di loro non hanno personaggi come il genere "principe azzurro". Anche Hans stesso è simile al principe del fuoco, in molti modi. Questo rende più difficile per me fare lui molto singolare, ma credetemi quando dico che sto ancora lo ulteriore sviluppo. Sto in realtà scrivendo una storia a parte del suo passato, ma è ancora un work in progress. Spero di fare Bernhard unico come lui può essere. Comunque, sono contento che voi lo apprezzate come è ora, quindi grazie.

Thanks again, **RJCA27**! Believe me, it's BAD. While Elsa's main weakness is her fear, Bern's is his anger, but honestly, I'm not sure if it would be bad enough to drive her away, but we'll see, eventually. You know, it's interesting, considering that Elsa was afraid of what her powers could do to others, not knowing that another person had it worse than her. I mean, when you hit someone with fire powers, be it in the head or in the heart or in any other body part, whether it was accidental or not, IT WILL CERTAINLY BE PAINFUL and IT CAN SURELY BE FATAL! Of course, she could always stab someone with an icicle or two, but that would be a different story.

Thanks, **JubJub 0250**! I was going to post it last night, here in our country. Unfortunately, my pc crashed and I had to sleep, so I worked on it after I got home tonight from school.

P.S. Non capisco italiana. Ho appena usato Google Translate. Quindi mi scuso in anticipo se quello che ho scritto non ha alcun senso a tutti haha.

P.P.S. I do not understand Italian. I just used Google Translate. So I apologize in advance if what I wrote makes no sense at all haha.

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

**The Sun and The Moon**

The prince's eyes darted around the first room. Curious as a kitten, he inspected every nook and cranny that he could, lingering the longest at the frozen fountain of ice at the center. The queen scanned the palace at first but ended up concentrating on her companion.

"So...I hope I didn't disappoint you."

"You're kidding, right? This is truly a wonder! Amazing craftsmanship everywhere! The floors, the walls, the ceiling...all very elaborate! Have you ever done this before? At all?"

"I used to. Well, sort of. When I was alone, locking myself up in my room, I built small palaces from ice. I've really had lots of practice.

"You have real talent here, such skill."

"Thank you." She was proud and at the same time slightly embarrassed at the tons of praises he was giving her.

"Mind if we go up?"

"Oh no. Not at all."

"Then ladies first."

They climbed up the curving staircases leading to the palace's "heart".

The top of the stairwell leads directly to the entrance.

Elsa went ahead and entered but Bernhard froze in his tracks, mid-step on the doorway.

Inside, was a white, hulking, gigantic ice beast who was currently dozing off.

The prince caught up to the queen and firmly took hold of her fore arm then tugged at her gently.

"Pst, Elsa. Look out."

She looked at him and then at the slumbering behemoth.

"Arise." She uttered the words quietly.

In an instant, the creature sat, then stood and situated itself in front of them. He looked at the prince and then at the queen before looking back at Bernhard and snarling. Its eyes briefly lit up with a fierce glow, while sharp ice spikes protruded from its body.

Bernhard instinctively pulled the queen back, got in front of her and then took on a fighting stance while summoning flames without hesitation.

The queen calmed them both down, stepping in between.

"It's okay, Bernhard. I know him. I made him." She rested a palm at the prince's chest, pacifying him.

"It's fine. He's a friend." Elsa smiled at the snow creature and for a moment, he looked like he was smiling back.

Bernhard noticed this and took it as a hint. "Hey, Big Fellow, sorry about that. I'm Bernhard, by the way, but my friends call me Bern...except for my new bestest bestfriend, that is!" The prince gave the queen a lopsided grin before he approached it nearer.

"What's your name?" It seemed to ponder for a bit.

"You seem a little lost here. What's the matter? Forgot your name?"

"Me don't have name?"

"I haven't really given him a name yet."

He glanced briefly at the queen. "What should we call him then?"

Elsa shrugged before thinking.

"You figure it out." She poked him.

"Let's see here...What about Frostbite?"

"No."

"Hailscorn?"

"Nope.

"Deathchill?"

Elsa shook her head.

"Well, we can't just call him "Marshmallow" now, can we?" Bernhard laughed.

"Marshmallow..." The ice beast boomed.

"That's it!"

"Uh, You like that, Big Man?"

The behemoth clapped and jumped around, shaking the two humans' footing. They stumbled a little bit but caught each other just in time, using one another's body for support. They smiled sheepishly, looking at each others' eyes while trying not to fall when their monstrous companion picked them up, carrying them in his palm.

"Okay, okay. You do seem like a big slush on the inside. Still, I'd say you'd make a very good guard."

"He is. Actually, he guards and maintains the palace and as you can see from the tiara atop his head, rules it too."

"I'm totally impressed. Prince Marshall of Arendelle, also known as "Marshmallow"! How 'bout that?"

"You give me name, that mean you my papa and she my mama."

Both humans blushed and turned away from each other.

"Erm...why don't you put us down for a bit, Marshmallow? Please?"

"Okay, Mama."

The prince snickered, receiving a jab to his arm.

"Let's go to the outside, Papa!" jested the queen.

Amused, Bernhard followed her to the rounded balcony overlooking a vast expanse of the North Mountain.

"Well, what do you think?"

"What do I think? Well, for one thing, I do think that he takes after you, he has your lovely eyes!"

"Oh now you're just making fun of me!" Elsa pouted and then crossed her arms to her chest.

"Hey, I'm just teasing you, so no need to be all sore on me! Seriously though, your eyes are beautiful but not in an empty, shining socket kind of way like his." Bernhard put a hand on her shoulder.

They laughed before falling silent, just enjoying the scenery, neither one minding the contact with the other.

"You never cease to amaze me you know. You did so in multiple times, in such a short span of time."

"Thanks. You're very generous with compliments, not that I'm complaining."

"I mean every, single, one of them so it doesn't really matter how much and how often I say them as long as I believe they're true.

"Reading about and building those castles were things that kept me sane during all those years of isolation. I did have contact with my parents and some of the staff and various tutors, but occupying merely one place for extended periods of time takes its toll. That's one of the reasons I did things like this to pass the time."

"I was like you when I was a kid. I loved building things too. I spent lots of time with my brothers, though most of them played with toy soldiers when by themselves or in each other's small groups. As for me, my alone time was spent making miniature ships."

"When I left the Southern Isles at the age of thirteen, we were provided with the best ship by our father...or so he thought. He was commissioned by the king himself, so it came as no surprise to us that he was titanic, "The Viking", he was called. He weathered through storm after storm and faced privateers of rival kingdoms without so much as a scratch. There was just one problem."

"I requested for only a handful of men for our crew, just enough to man our ship and do the regular tasks that needed to be done. I wanted to find myself, afterall. Making people do unnecessary work for us reminded me solely of my status as a prince. Only about half of them were trained for battle and the other half had, at best, the most basic skills in combat."

Elsa was listening intently, concentrating on the story.

"One evening, almost two years after we left home, we were on our way home to visit our dying father on his death bed. He became increasingly ill, having lost his eldest son and heir, then not seeing one of his youngest and his bastard son, whom he loved just as much as every one of his boys, for a couple of years."

"We were raided. Pirates from the Northern Sea came at us from all directions, climbing aboard with ropes and hooks and planks. It didn't take long for our lot to be captured. Sig, being the mad man that he is, jumped from the ship, taking me with him, plunging into the deep, dark waters to escape the fighting. We spent the entire night swimming, treading the cold and salty liquid, hoping to find land, fortunately we were near our territory. A passing patrol located us and we reported what happened after identifying ourselves."

The queen piped up. "What happened then?"

"Father died before we even had a chance to get to him. The following morning while we were mourning our loss, a naval officer talked to me, openly ignoring the brother that saved my life just hours ago. The Viking was recovered, the men rescued and the pirates, executed on sight, without as much as an opinion from any of us two."

"Out of grief and regret, I began drawing plans for a new ship, smaller in size, thus easier to defend. I planned to name her "The Valkyrie". Difficulty in sleeping was in my favor, for once. It gave me more time to work on my design. Some months later, when our current king, our eldest surviving brother, as I've told you before, discovered what I was doing, he, perhaps out of pity or something...I don't really know, deemed me and Sig as part of the royal explorer's guild, two of the youngest members, about the same time as Viktor, one of my brothers brother, the one whom I was born after, was knighted."

"I daresay that he was furious about the divided attention he was supposed to have all to himself. I couldn't blame him if he blamed me for my father's death too, though. That was the first time I heard him call me a "king killer". I hate to admit it but it was such an apt title, considering that I was the one that insisted to travel far away from home, father only allowed it when he made Sig go with me, after all."

"We were on the verge of fighting. When he threatened me, daring me to try to be a "knight killer" too, that was when I chose to leave, to sail the open waters again. Our people were just starting to give me a second chance then. Still, I decided to go, taking apart our old ship to use the parts for a new one, the one we now have. Over the years I've improved "The Valkyrie", slowly increasing her size, as the size of our crew increased just as slowly. I've returned home three more times, with three years each, in-between. The last one was a day before I got here and well...now, here I am."

Bernhard finished his story with a forlorn smile and a noise that sounded like a mixture of a sob and a chuckle.

"That's sad. Being accused of something bad that you didn't even actually commit. What's the reason you chose to leave home for the first time at such a very young age anyway? And why would you need redeem yourself? Also, how come you only stayed home for a day this time around?"

"Stories for another time I'm afraid, Queen Elsa. I'm not quite ready yet. I don't talk about those to anyone, not even Sig. Too much heartache for me, those stories.

His listener nodded in understanding.

"But I will tell you one thing...I certainly don't regret coming here as soon as possible, that's for certain." he smiled.

She smiled back then replied. "I understand. I'm always here if you need someone to talk to, just like you were for me last night. You can be sure of it." She gave his shoulder a light squeeze.

"Thanks."

They looked over the horizon. It was dusk and the sky was painted with varying hues of purples and oranges.

"Look, the sun's setting! It's beautiful." Elsa pointed while shielding her eyes.

Bernhard looked at it directly, the sunlight not blinding him the slightest.

"It is, isn't it?"

"Hey, wait! How'd you do that?"

"What?"

"Looking straight at the sun! Doesn't it hurt your eyes?"

"Not one bit. It's just extremely bright, is all."

"Huh. Anna's always tried to look at it when we were little, even when our parents and I warned her not to. I tried once but ended up blinking a lot afterwards."

He beamed with a wide smile and crinkled eyes. "Adorable."

He,again, stared back at the celestial being.

"Radiant though the sun may be, there are probably only a few, if there is more than one, that can look at him directly and not feel pain. He makes everything brighter and easier to see, so long as your eyes don't meet him, else they will be burned. He is a joy to be around, get too close though and you are bound to get hurt. Anyway, sadistically majestic as he is, he always gives the night a chance no matter how bright he was everyday so you could never really hate him."

"Kind of like you, huh?"

"What do you mean kind of like me?"

"Everybody loves His Highness, Prince Bernhard, but he seemed to always put himself down humbly even when he shouldn't have to, also puts people's needs before his own even if it was not expected of him, being a prince and all. He'd be supporting others, not letting them down even when they don't always deserve nor appreciate it. Everyone wants to understand him but apparently cannot. I, myself, am intrigued by the mysterious, dashing, handsome prince, if I could say so myself."

"If I heard correctly, Madam, you just called me handsome." the prince flirted.

"I did no such thing, Sir!" the queen mocked denial.

They laughed at and laughed with one another.

"So...me and the sun huh? I'd say as much between you and the moon."

"Really now?"

"Yes. You are very much alike, you and her. You both try to hide behind walls, whether made of clouds or of stone. Still, elusive as you both are, your rare presence would always be rewarding to those who are fortunate enough to wait and see. I am talking about the full you, the whole you, your real selves, with nothing to hide. You try to reveal only bits and pieces and hide away the parts that you probably believe are flawed, trying to be flawless, perfect girls. What you fail to realize, however, is that these "imperfections", your so-called dark sides are also things that make you...you.

"While I was observing you when you first showed me some of what you already know about your powers, what I saw was not a monster at all. It was a young woman who felt free, bold and happy and not because she was harming others either. Seeing you that way only made my desire to help you that much stronger. You are a really good person, Queen Elsa, I hope that you never forget that."

The prince, himself, was somewhat surprised at how openly he gave his opinion of the queen in front of him. She, in turn, was tearing up while the sincerity of his words sunk in. Bernhard, not the least bit holding back, wiped a lone tear streaming down her cheek using his thumb, their eyes were sharing a look of understanding, when suddenly, Elsa's stomach rumbled. It ceased the tender, delicate moment that they were having, merely moments ago.

"Was...that you?"

"Uh, maybe?"

"We haven't eaten anything at all tod-"

"Oh no! We've been gone for hours! They could be looking everywhere for us!"

"We should go back before they send out a search party. Your men might begin to think that I abducted you."

The queen bid Marshmallow goodbye and told him to be a good boy and keep looking after the palace. The prince gave his farewell too and promised to visit and then took Elsa's hand leading her back to the balcony.

"Wait, did you forget something? I thought we are going to go back."

"We are. Hold on to me."

"What?"

"Grab on and don't let go."

"You're not serious!"

"I am."

"No thanks. We should take the stairs."

The prince jumped up the railing.

"What are you doing? Get down!"

The queen held his leg.

"I am going to go down."

"To your death? You are NOT going to get yourself killed, Bernhard!"

"I know. Trust me. I'll be fine. We'll be fine."

"We probably would've already made it down if you started walking after saying goodbye to Marshmallow."

"Yes. Probably...Sorry, Your Majesty."

He swiftly carried the queen like a bride. "Ready?"

"Hey, get me down!"

"As my queen commands."

The prince lept down, taking her with him.

She was screaming at first, with her eyes closed and arms strangling his neck in a death choke. The prince adjusted his position and then halfway down, glided, his feet in flames.

"Open your eyes. We're not dead yet."

She did so one eye after the other. She couldn't believe what she saw. They were hovering in the air.

"Not so bad, eh?"

"You can fly too?"

"Sort of."

They landed just outside the grove of trees near the clearing they trained in and ran to the waiting horse.

"How'd you do that?"

"I just do it. I think you could do it too, somehow. We should work on that one of these days."

The mare immediately nuzzled her head into Elsa's bosom, prompting her to hug it.

"You hungry too, Girl? Don't worry, we'll be back at the castle in no tine and you'll be eating carrots pretty soon!" The queen soothed their ride.

"I'll control her this time. Hang on tight. This is going to be fast." The prince helped her up and they went on their way.

Elsa was holding on to Bernhard's midsection. In the process, she felt the hardness of his core from years of relentless martial training. He was at the peak and prime of his physical form and had a well-developed, fit body, almost as broad as Kristoff but twice as muscular. It was unlike Sigmund's too, the prince having hardly any trace of fat.

The young mare galloped with long strides. Elsa leaned forward and shut her eyes, burying her face into his back. Her vice-like grip embraced Bernhard's abdomen.

Getting back took half the time they did going away and before long they passed the castle gates, the mare slowing down to a trot when they reached inside and stopping in front of the stables where Sigmund, Anna, Kristoff, Kai, Gerda and a few guards were waiting.

"Uh, Elsa? We're here. You awake?"

The queen upon realizing where they are, straightened then looked around, blushing when she saw the greatly concerned, yet oddly curious, faces of her people. She let go of the prince and he helped her get down.

"I'll just put her in the stables..." The prince excused himself from the somewhat awkward situation they were in.

"Your Majesty, we were worried sick! We could not find you since this morning. Those two say they were the last to see you." Kai said with a look of relief on his face, pointing to the two guards who were watching the men in the courtyard early that morning.

"I know and I apologize. I enjoyed training with Bernhard far too much, I'm afraid."

"Waaay too much!" Anna poked her in the side.

"Let's go get you two ladies cleaned up for tonight's festivities, Queen Elsa, Princess Anna."

The girls followed their handmaiden. Anna gave a quick peck to Kristoff's cheeks while Elsa took a quick glance at the stable before quickly averting her gaze.

The men were left outside, waiting for the prince.

* * *

The royal stables at Arendelle castle housed best steed of the kingdom, reserved for those of the noblest of births and since last summer, for a reindeer friend of a certain ice master and deliverer too.

There was a commotion inside making Sigmund, Kristoff and Kai rush to get in...or at least try to.

"Woah, easy there, Boy!" Bernhard jumped back, accidentally colliding with the three men, making the four of them fall to the ground.

"Oh sorry, Guys. Didn't see you there." The three men got back outside, seeing the situation under control...sort of.

The prince was holding a bunch of carrots and Sven tried to swipe them with his mouth, to no avail. Bernhard rolled away then tumbled a few feet away from the reindeer.

"These aren't for you, Boy. It's for that lady back there. Now, let me get back inside and I'll give you some after her."

He tried getting in but the animal would not budge, blocking the door from him.

"Won't let me in now, huh?"

Bernhard held a carrot directly in front of the animal's nose then pretended to throw it away from him, but actually hiding it behind his back. With the animal chasing after and looking for the seemingly gone vegetable, he snuck inside while it was distracted. He fed the mare that they rode to and from the North Mountain before he got back outside.

The men looked at him. Sigmund was crossing his arms, unamused at being knocked down, Kristoff was saying something to his reindeer friend and Kai asked him if he was fine.

"I'm alright, Kai. Thank you."

His half-brother began conversing with the older man.

Meanwhile, he approached the reindeer and as promised brought before him a new bunch of carrots.

He pat the animal's head then spoke softly, as if speaking to a child.

"You want a snack? Okay. What's the magic word?"

It lunged at the vegetables but the prince was too fast and quickly put it away behind him. "Uh, uh, uh!"

The animal grunted, a sound resembling a cough.

"I'll take that as a please." He smiled at it and fed it the carrots one by one.

"He must be Sven. Elsa mentioned last night that you have a reindeer."

"He's not "MINE". I don't own him. He's a friend, not a pet."

"I understand."

Bernhard chose not to push it and did not start anymore conversations with the mountain man.

"He seems like to you too, just like Anna does." Kristoff piped up after some time.

"Huh? Oh. He does, doesn't he?" He looked at the blonde with an unreadable expression.

"But I take it that you don't...for some reason?" He added after a pause.

"Just being careful. Though to your credit, you haven't done anything to make anyone suspicious...still."

"I get that but I wanted to reassure you that Sig and I aren't the same as Hans."

"Strange thing is, I like Sig very much. Maybe I'm just naturally cautious around the "kingly" ones."

"Oh, I'm hardly closer to being king than my sea snake of a brother is...was. If anything, he was probably more suitable as a ruler of our island nation, having grown up at The Isles."

"You weren't raised in your own kingdom?"

"No. Didn't Sig tell you our story?"

"Not really. All he talks about are wine, women and such."

The prince gave a short laugh. "Typical Sig. Anyway, I'm not the kind who you probably think I am. Well, maybe a little bit. I still might still be a prince, unlike my younger brother, I might add, but I'm no stranger to hard labor, just as my half-brother isn't."

"I guess I've been pretty unfair, judging you based on your little brother. You don't deserve that and all..."

"Ah it's okay, Buddy. Couldn't exactly blame you for that either but, you know...wouldn't hurt to give me a chance now, would it?"

"Sure. It's only fair, right?"

"Of course. Besides, Anna told me you're an ice harvester? I was kind of hoping you could take me to one of your trips. I'm so sure Sig would ask you one of these days once he finds out. We've been to many places, done many things too but nothing of that sort yet." He beamed boyishly, showing of his enthusiasm at the prospect of a new kind of adventure.

"I don't see why I can't let you tag along."

"That 's great then."

"There's just one more thing, though..."

"What is it?"

"I'm courting Anna. As long as you remember that, I think we could get along just fine."

"Oh a suitor? Noted. Good choice, by the way."

"Thanks, Buddy."

"If you two gossiping girls are done, then Kai has something to say." Sigmund announced with a teasing tone of voice.

"Gentlemen, the festivities will start at about an hour and a half from now. It will be held at the town square. Please wear casual clothes if you wish to attend. Good evening, Sirs."

The majordomo left the group. The men left agreed that they will just meet there, opting to go their separate ways to prepare for the coming evening.

* * *

Inside the castle the women are getting ready for the festival.

Anna changed into an outfit fit for mingling with the common folk, simple but presentable. It was a more casual version of her signature style.

The elbow-length-sleeved blouse she now wore had a blue-green color, clasped with a round, golden brooch at the neckline. It was worn under an olive colored, three-buttoned, pinafore dress a skirt colored dark-blue. An ordinary pair of flat, black shoes with stockings were her footwear.

Elsa still opted to wear the now dry dress that she had been wearing when they went to the North Mountain earlier but decided to wear a black headband to make her already immaculate hair look neater, according to her. She also wore her signature white gloves.

She has made much progress from the little girl who locked herself up in a cold room for more than a decade to a young woman who finally let it go in the mountains to the North.

Her white gloves, given by her father when she was barely a teen, were her most prized possessions. It was sentimental enough that even though she had no second thoughts about leaving behind her original, more expensive cyan gloves, she could not bear to even think about throwing these away.

Although she now knows that they did not directly help control her powers, they did help a lot in keeping her emotions in check, which in turn, made the people suppress their fears and become more comfortable around her, or at least in her mind they are.

"So are you gonna tell me what happened between you two?"

"Not likely..."

"Aww come on, Elsa! It wouldn't hurt, now would it? Just a little bit of a clue? PLEEEASE!"

The queen chuckled, shaking her head. "What would you like to know?"

"What were you two doing?"

"Training."

"You were training from dawn 'til dusk?"

"No. We went to my palace at the North Mountain after training."

"What!? And you didn't take me with you?"

"We just happened to be nearby and I thought that maybe I'd show him the place. Next time, Anna."

The princess pouted. "Fine. But what else did you do?"

"Well, we...talked. Shared stories and such. He's a really nice guy and very sweet too."

"Oooh...I think you like him!"

"Of course I like him, don't you?"

"I do. But what I meant to say is that you "like-like" him. Like, you know...Interested romantically? That sort of like?"

"Anna!" The queen's face reddened and she was suddenly feeling very warm.

The princess laughed at her expense. "Alright. I'll stop tormenting you. But just so you know, I believe that he likes you too. Well, I'll go find Kristoff and we can all go to the village together. You should invite Bern to come with us."

With one final raise of her eyebrows, she was off, racing down the hall towards the mountain man's room.

"I like him? He likes me too, huh?" She sighed, looking at the mirror giving her appearance another thorough inspection.

* * *

Back at Bernhard's room, the prince was currently applying more pomade to his hair, this time, to make it stand up, with the aid of the kerchief on his forehead. He normally wore it this way on normal days at their ship, when he did his daily training and other tasks involving manual labor. It kept his hair out of his face, preventing it from covering his eyes and interfering with whatever he was doing. He chose to just wear what he was already wearing but added a black and red vest with his signature red scarf to the mix.

Now, he could pass as a commoner, albeit with somewhat finer clothes and even finer features.

He just finished with combing his hair, when he looked outside his window. He noticed that, though the sky is slowly turning dark, he can still make out the people below.

"Just enough time, I suppose..." He continued. " I better get going."

Bernhard took one last look at the mirror, then went out of his room to go check on the queen if she was ready. He hummed a tune while remembering the day's events including the brief moment he shared with Elsa. The memory made him feel all heady.

He reached his destination, just in time for the door to open.

"Hello, Bernhard."

"Elsa, hi."

They looked at each other, taking in the appearance of the person in front of them.

"You look gorgeous, as usual."

"You don't look bad, yourself."

They paused, both seemingly at a loss for words, just smiling at one another.

"I was wondering-" he said.

"Do you want-" she said.

They simultaneously cut off one another's sentence.

"You first."

"Nope. Ladies first."

"No. Really. You go ahead."

"Please. I insist."

"Alright then. Do you want to go to the village with Kristoff, Anna and I?"

"Oh. Sure. Of course I would. But I was sort of wondering if..." The prince trailed off.

"If?" Elsa was genuinely curious of what he has to say.

"If...You know..." He rubbed the back of his neck. Never had he felt this unsure of himself when talking to anyone, let alone a woman, before. It was a minor thing to ask, really. Still, he stumbled on what to say next.

"No. Not really. I honestly don't. Come on! What is it? You know you can say anything to me." The queen chuckled. Finding his seemingly hidden, shy side endearing.

**-End of Chapter 8-**

* * *

**Notes on Chapter 8**

Here's the chapter that I promised would be longer than the last one, the longest one yet (and probably will be for a while, with midterms coming and all). Sorry if this mostly contains dialogue between the characters and not too much progress on the plot. It's one way of telling stories besides having an omniscient narrator blab on about things that happened and are happening. I hope Bern and Elsa don't lose any chemistry in this chapter with the way they interact with each other. It's hard to keep up the spark, but I do try.

Hopefully the "Marshmallow Scene" isn't too mushy for you guys. I tried giving him a bit more character here than in the film. I like to think that he has a little more personality and that he is a big softie despite being a monster who fights and throws people.

I've thought long and hard about the metaphor for the moon and sun. Hopefully, it still makes sense haha.

Bern, as you probably are aware of now, had accidentally hurt people who were too close or got too close to him (figuratively and literally) in the past (will be explained further on future chapters) and he does his best to make up for it by trying to be the brightest sunshine in his friends' lives, even if he, himself, feels just like a vulnerable, lone flame. Though he knows that he has friends, he thinks that no one could ever truly understand him, try as they might and that his powers are his and his alone to bear.

Elsa, as you know had beautiful but dangerous magic that she had kept hidden for a long, long time. Besides her sister, the prince is the first of many to actually appreciate her powers that much. He genuinely wants to experience more of her them firsthand, albeit not involving aches and bruises on private parts. He considers her very lucky to have been blessed with such an ability.

Everyone knew this was coming, from the moment Bern and Kristoff met each other at dinner last night in the dining hall. Strangely Bern was the calm and collected one during the entire conversation (confrontation). Things would've been different if this happened years ago, when he was but a boy. In Kristoff's defense though, he didn't have nearly as much interaction with other human males (and females) than the prince did. The mountain man lived with a bunch of trolls for the majority of his life and was just starting to integrate himself back into society, so it is only natural if he would feel some insecurity towards the other man, especially now that he is after a girl, for the first time too.

And of course, Anna would be the first to notice something going on between the two love birds, even before they, themselves, had any kind of clue. She might be a ditz and a klutz (in a lovable kind of way), but she's more observant than she looks. She's still not entirely sure though, for now, but once she's truly certain that her sister has developed a crush for a man, she finally has a chance to get back at Elsa for all her sister's teasing and scolding every time she mentions "boys".


	9. Tag Along

What's up, guys? Sorry I wasn't able to update this story. I've been so, very, very busy with all of the midterm exams and the University Intramural going on. Anyway, here I am, still alive and kicking. Once I have more free time, I swear I will finish this seemingly "filler-filled" story arc and move on with the plot. That's a promise! In the meantime, here's a new chapter. I'll make a longer chapter next time.

**-The Big Bad Werewolf**

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

**Tag Along**

"Would you like to go to the square with me early? I promise it won't take too long and we're already there so you needn't go too far for the festivities. I was sort of hoping that you'd accompany me to the merchants. You never know when you'd find something of interest there." Bernhard finally got to ask her, granted he sounded like a babbling boy. He was anxiously fiddling with his thumbs and wringing his hands.

"Hmmm, I've never really tried making a public appearance to the people, other than the coronation and even then, I was only on the balcony."

"Well, I mean, if you want a royal escort or something or perhaps...on second thought, If it's too much trouble maybe you shouldn't..." He was losing hope, and fast.

"What? No. No, no, no. I'll go with you. Just the two of us. Sounds exciting. I just need to tell Anna and we can be on our way."

"That's great!" He said that a little louder than he intended to.

The queen giggled at his reaction, finding his boyish enthusiasm adorable.

The prince cleared his throat before smiling bashfully. "Well, shall we go then?"

"Yes. Let's."

"Oh wait. You might want to wear a hood of some sort to disguise yourself for now, then a public appearance wouldn't be part of your worries until later tonight."

They set off to Kristoff's room to tell the couple of the plan.

* * *

They were finally outside the room when they heard girly giggling and screaming then a loud "clang" sound and a softer "oof" from the inside.

The two royals glanced at each other, curious looks on their faces.

"Should we-"

Before Bernhard could finish what he was asking Elsa barged in, frost forming on the door's handle.

The room was in disarray, to say the least. The sheets and pillows were strewn everywhere and there was a pile of wrinkled clothes on the floor.

Anna was in a corner trying to make herself small and holding a finger to her lips, as if telling the two to keep quiet. Kristoff, on the other hand, had a light blue cloth covering his eyes, while sitting on the a blanket, rubbing his knee. The princess moved to go to the door when she accidentally kicked a pickaxe, making a small sound. She was quickly hugged by Kristoff.

"Got you!" He was about to kiss Anna when she piped up. "Oh, Elsa's here!"

This made him instinctively turn raising his hands, not knowing that he was facing the window. Still in the dark, he addressed the ruler. "Look, I can explain!"

Anna removed the blindfold and then turned him around.

Elsa had her mouth open, meanwhile, Bernhard was covering his, trying not to laugh.

The queen coughed, clearing her throat and looking at the girl. "Bernhard and I are going to go ahead. Just meet us there later.

She turned to her sister's lover. "...and don't do anything beyond what you tried to do. Seriously, you two act like married children." He nodded at her vigorously, his cheeks and nose reddening.

"But Elsa, we're just playing." She got to her older sister and whispered, but made sure that everyone in the room heard. "Besides, maybe you two are the ones who should get married." She poked her elder sister in the side then backed away snickering, raising her eyebrows at the both of them.

"Anna! We're going to go. Now." She was the first one out of the room

Bernhard had an eyebrow raised at the princess. She gave him a wink and Kristoff gave him a thumbs up, beaming.

The prince, smiling a little, looked down slightly, shaking his head and then waved at them before getting out too, closing the door.

The mountain man gently took the cloth from Anna before putting it in his pocket and then kissed her on the forehead. He folded, up to below his elbows, the sleeves of the light blue shirt he was wearing and then tucked it in his dark trousers, securing them together firmly with a burgundy sash. He got a dark green vest with blue green trimmings hanging on a coat rack and the put it on. He wore his favorite pair of boots, fur-lined, dark brown ones, with pointed toes.

The princess hugged him from behind, and he turned to her then gave her a chaste kiss on the lips. "I love you he said."

"I love you too." Anna answered back.

* * *

Gerda gave the queen a thin, light blue cloak before they got out of the castle, so that she would not be recognized so easily.

They went ahead, not riding horses, opting to take a short walk instead, to reach the heart of the village. They saw the abundance of the town decorations and the stage at the center with chairs set up at one side of it and an elevated platform with two seats, meant for the queen and princess at another side.

They finally arrived at their destination. The merchants had set up their booths for days, hoping to sell their wares to the visiting foreigners but are still more than willing to trade with the native people.

The queen looked around in curiosity, not used to seeing things for sale. She was enjoying the sights and smells and sounds so much that she did not known where to begin viewing.

The prince looked at her reaction to the place and decided to help her out. "Hey, you hungry?"

Like it was on cue, her stomach rumbled again, quite a bit louder this time, in protest of her temporarily-forgotten hunger. "A little. I still haven't eaten yet."

The prince smiled. "Let's go get something to eat first."

Elsa nodded vigorously. Now, they have an idea of where to start exploring.

In one area, there is a group of booths that sold food. There was an appetizing assortment of odors that attracted people.

"What is that amazing smell? she asked.

"Chocolate. The fondue probably." answered Bernhard.

The queen was about to go off to the direction it was coming from when the prince blocked her.

"Woah. Uh-uh. Easy there. What you need is real food."

Elsa pouted but reluctantly agreed, knowing that merely chocolate alone will not satisfy her need.

Bernhard led the way to the bakery. It vaguely smelled of chocolate there but it was mixed with odors such as fruits and meat. There, he bought two, a cake, covered and filled with chocolate, with a lone cherry on top, the other, a pork pie garnished with cheese. They were from a freshly-baked batches, so were still very warm.

He gave the chocolate cake to Elsa and ushered her to a nearby bench. "Here. Eat this for now. I'll be back in a moment. Gotta go get some drinks."

"Thanks! I'll wait for you here."

The prince ran to a booth selling cups of beverages and bought two, cold juice and, you've guessed it, hot chocolate. He ran back, surprisingly not spilling a drop, and handed the latter to the queen.

"Impressive!" she complimented.

"Thanks. We could walk while eating if you'd like. It would give us more time to look at the other booths." He took a bite off his pie, licking cheese on his lips.

His companion gulped. "Good idea."

They went to the chocolate stall and Elsa's eyes widened in wonder. It was the biggest number of chocolates she had seen gathered in one place And came in a wide variety to choose from.

"See anything you like?" Bernhard playfully asked before taking a bite and sipping.

"Yes. Everything!" She would not be able to pick just one from such a huge selection.

"I thought as much. But first, let's start with something you haven't tried yet, something you still haven't tasted." He laughed, amused at her love for the sweets. Admittedly, he too liked to indulge in them once in a while.

She pointed to the animal-shaped ones first and picked one shaped like either a wolf or a dog. Berhard chose one shaped like a bear and turned to Elsa again.

"What else?"

They ended up getting about twenty different kinds, with the queen selecting most of them. By now, they were finished with their snacks and drinks.

"I can't wait to try them all."

The prince beamed at her. "One at a time, Queen Elsa, one at a time. You should eat some while at the festival.

"It's a wonderful idea, really...aside from the fact that Anna's there and will probably finish them all up, one way or another." She laughed.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll find a way. Women from Arendelle sure love their chocolate." He chuckled.

"Yup. They sure do."

They were now in the area where the booths sold mixed wares. Elsa was busy looking at books and Bernhard was about to be too, when something caught his eye from somewhere else.

It was in a booth to the side that sold various trinkets, a beautiful necklace with a snowflake pendant of sophisticated design.

He went to look at it when the shopkeeper greeted him.

"A fine evening to you, Good Sir. Might I interest you in something? Anything?" inquired a bespectacled man.

He touched it and then held it up, feeling its ice-cold surface.

"Yes, actually. I'm already very interested in this one. How much for it?"

"Oh. That one looks and feels very real, yes? You can see the quality of the craftsmanship. I made it myself, using secret methods passed down in our family from generation to generation."

The prince raised his eyebrow, not fooled in the slightest. "On second thought, I'm starting to lose interest. Lovely evening to you."

"What? Wait! I've got other goods here, see? Really interesting. Might want to take a loo-"

"Hmmm. No. I'm only REALLY interested in that one. Which is why I REALLY want to know where it REALLY came from...for real." he cut-off.

"Okay, Sir. I'm a travelling salesman, you see and I came upon it three years ago in a mountain, North from here, when I was lost in a blizzard. I stumbled forward and fumbled around for my pair of glasses in the snowstorm when I found this treasure hanging on it. I kept this, thinking the unnatural cold could give me unimaginable powers of some sort, and did not hold it for sale until now. People here in Arendelle seem wary of it though, especially when they find out about its story or touched its cold. I wonder why?"

"I'll buy it. Let's say...a hundred. Sound's alright to you?"

"Oh yes, thank you very much, Kind Sir! You're the first one to take an interest in it today. I'll go get it a nice box for you. I'm glad I didn't get rid of it. It only gave me bad luck here, driving people away."

"You're welcome. Oh, and were I you, I'd stop lying about the origins of my wares. One more thing, I'd also be careful of what I wish for when it comes to magic and such. Could be trouble, for all you know. Bad for business. Here's two hundred. Don't tell anyone I bought this."

"Yes, Sir! A pleasure doing business with you! Please come again!"

With that he went on his way back to the queen.

"What are you reading?" Bernhard was going to peek over Elsa's shoulder but she hid the book just in time for him not to see what it was.

"Oh, uh, uhm...it's nothing."

"Really? Was it now?" He already caught a glimpse but wanted to make sure.

"The festivities are about to start any minute now. We've only got fifteen minutes at best."

"You're avoiding the question, but alright. Just one more place."

"How about that one? Looks mysterious."

She pointed to a tent with a sign that read: "Madame Mystika's Magic Market".

"Wait. I know that one. Let's go there now. I need to get some new clothes."

"Clothes?"

"Yes. I need some new magic clothes that I cannot "accidentally" set on fire. The ones I own don't get ruined so easily but overtime they get burn marks so I try to replace them as often as I can, that is...everytime I run into the shopkeeper and her tent."

"Wow. Now, I want to know what they have there. Perhaps they've got something that has to do with my magic."

"They most probably do."

They got to the entrance but it was closed. The prince tried opening the tent but apparently could not. It made him wonder how could possibly a tent even be locked up.

"Let's just go back some other time. I'm sure Anna's missing you. Wouldn't want her to get jealous of me getting more "Elsa time" than her tonight. I've already taken you away from her, most of today."

"She'd hardly notices while she's with Kristoff anyway..."

The queen kept silent for a while after that. The prince, seeing this, put his hand on her shoulder without saying a word and even though he was not looking, the way her shoulders drooped slighlty and her almost inaudible sigh indicated that she became more comfortable with his touch.

They were now at the stairs of the high platform at the stage area.

"Bernhard, I had fun. Thank you for letting me tag along. I never got a chance to experience this before. Any of this."

"No. Thank you for coming with me, Elsa. I did hope that you'd go but I did not expect it."

"This is so much better than having to gag at Anna and Kristoff's constant public displays of affection."

"I feel the same way with Sig when he has a girl with him, at least those two are actually in-love. Anyway, maybe we should go again some other time, daytime perhaps."

"You must pity me, thinking I am such a naive "indoors girl" who knows nothing about the outside world out there. I've practically never done anything in my entire life besides locking myself up and shutting people out."

"Your Majesty, you are a lot of things but I myself assure you that "naive" is not one of them. Innocent perhaps, but not naive."

"It means a lot to me coming from a man whose playroom is the whole world, Prince Bernhard."

The prince gave her his signature smirk.

"Hey, stick with me, Sweetheart and I'll take you to places you've never, even in your wildest dreams, ever imagined going to."

He winked in a flirtatious manner, emboldened by the new found knowledge of the queen's perception of him.

"Why, Your Highness, I might just take you up on that offer, one day."

She went along and playfully batted her eyelashes at him.

"I'll be counting on it then."

Just then, Anna arrived with Kristoff, along with Kai, Gerda and some guards with their captain.

The majordomo talked to tonight's performers before he announced that the performances will begin soon.

"Well, I guess I'll see you later. I'll just be somewhere in the crowd if you need me."

"Sure. You'll escort me to the castle tonight, won't you?"

"Of course, I will. Oh! And just relax, will you, Elsa?"

"I can't help that I'm sort of...tense?"

Hearing that made him get behind her and put both hands in her shoulders then squeezing slighty. "Don't let them get under your skin. If it helps, just imagine them in their undergarments or if you'd rather do it, imagine that they're all me. A hundred "Bernhards", imagine that." he whispered to her breathily.

The way the prince said those words, his warm breath brushing against her ear and neck, and the actions that accompanied them made the queen's skin crawl and her hairs stand on end. The tingles were pleasant, in a way that she would not be able to explain.

"I-I'll try." she managed to stutter.

"Great! Your subjects will love you, I'm sure. You should keep that in mind too."

With that he went away and waved back to her. He greeted the princess and gave the mountain man a friendly tap in his shoulder.

She, in turn, watched him dreamily before he disappeared in the gathering crowd.

**-End Of Chapter 9**-

* * *

**Notes on Chapter 9**

The spotlight focuses much on the two lovebirds (not surprising since they're the main characters of the story) so I wanted to include a scene with Anna and Kristoff. They are very much in-love and I felt the need to show that. It turned out alright, I hope.

I consider this their first actual date. They had no reason to go there earlier, other than to hangout, no ball, no meeting, no training. I think it went quite well, as far as first dates go. This is the first time Bernhard has deliberately asked a girl to tag along with him and it is also the first time Elsa went along with a guy. It's a series of "firsts" again.

Here's a hint, by the way, the tent, or rather it's owner, will be important in one or more of the next chapter/s.


End file.
